Sustainable aviation fuel pathways: Emissions, costs and uncertainty

Previous life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) show significant variations in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and costs of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This study conducts a meta-analysis to examine uncertainty sources and their impacts on GHG and cost performances of various SAF pathways, using data harmonized for the U.S. context. Pathways include hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA), Fischer–Tropsch (FT), bioenergy combined with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), alcohol-to-jet process (ATJ), pyrolysis, and power-to-liquid (PtL) with direct air capture (DAC). Harmonization reduced uncertainties for all SAF pathways except PtL-DAC, where the H 2 source is the main…

• AP
  Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
• YU
  Yale University