Airbus partners with DG Fuels to foster sustainable aviation fuel production in US

Airbus has become a strategic partner with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project developer DG Fuels LLC.

DG Fuels’ production system is based entirely on cellulosic waste products, such as wood waste from the logging industry, and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

DG Fuels’ plant in Louisiana aims to have an initial production capacity of 120 million gallons of SAF per year, which could save approximately 1.5 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually from 2026.

The partnership with Airbus supports DG Fuels’ goal of launching the equity process and reaching a final investment decision (FID) on building DG Fuels’ first SAF plant in the United States.

FID is expected early next year.

Airbus and DG Fuels have agreed for a portion of the production of the first plant to benefit Airbus’ customers.

“Sustainable aviation fuels play a crucial role in enabling aviation’s decarbonization roadmap,” said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. “We are committed to supporting all efforts that contribute to making them available at scale around the globe. The partnership with DG Fuels supports the emergence of a new technological pathway allowing for the production of SAFs from a broader range of waste and residue sources, first in the U.S with a potential for large-scale production worldwide.”

The project is in line with the Biden administration’s SAF Grand Challenge, which aims to reduce costs, improve sustainability and expand domestic SAF production.

The program aims to produce 3 billion gallons of domestic SAF per year, achieving at least a 50 percent reduction in lifecycle greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions compared to conventional fuel by 2030 and 100 percent of projected aviation-fuel consumption—or 35 billion gallons of annual production—by 2050.

“The DG Fuels team is excited to have finalized this SAF partnership with Airbus,” said Michael Darcy, chairman and CEO at DG Fuels. “We look forward to working together to accelerate the initial SAF facility in Louisiana and the subsequent scale up at various locations in the United States and beyond.”

DG Fuels’ technology produces hydrogen via water electrolysis and biomass-derived fuel for aircraft, and potentially for locomotives, vessels and trucks.