Over the past few years, tax credits and other incentives — both financial and regulatory — have breathed life into the U.S. market for sustainable aviation fuel, whose production is now ramping up, with more SAF capacity on the way. But the sector may experience turbulence under the incoming Trump administration, which has pledged to undo much of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and pull back on the stepped-up decarbonization efforts that helped define the Biden presidency. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the latest developments in the SAF space and the choppiness the still-fledgling sector may soon face.
The Future of Fuels bi-annual report by RBN's Refined Fuels Analytics provides an in-depth analysis of the U.S. and global refinery industries, focusing on crude oil and fuel market dynamics, supply and demand, alternative fuels, refinery capacities, and price forecasts to help stakeholders navigate the evolving energy landscape.
As we said in Come Clean, jet fuel is the third-most-consumed transportation fuel in the U.S., accounting for about 10% of the total, and its high energy density — combined with the high reliability and efficiency of today’s jet engines — enables modern aircraft to fly long distances without refueling. We also said that, barring a major technological breakthrough in batteries or other alternatives, the most viable option to achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the U.S. (and global) aviation industry is to replace an increasing share of the jet fuel consumed with SAF, which is chemically identical to conventional “jet” and can serve as a “drop-in” replacement for it. (Current rules generally limit the share of SAF in the jet fuel blend to 50% or less.)
SAF and its cousin, renewable diesel (RD), are often produced at the same facilities, which makes sense given that similar processes and renewable feedstocks (vegetable oil, waste cooking oil, animal fats, etc.) are used to make them. At an RD/SAF refinery, those feedstocks are reacted with hydrogen (H2) at high pressure in a catalyst-filled reactor (blue step in Figure 1 flow diagram). After the reactor, the liquid hydrocarbons are separated from unreacted hydrogen and water (H2O; gray step), fed into a lower-pressure fractionation system and distilled into refinery intermediates (orange step). Note: Like conventional jet fuel, SAF needs to have a lower freeze point than RD (and conventional diesel) because of the very low temperatures jets encounter at high altitudes — that is typically achieved using a “de-waxing” catalyst in the reactor. (See Come Clean for more.)
RD/SAF Manufacturing Process Utilizing Hydrotreating Technology
Figure 1. RD/SAF Manufacturing Process Utilizing Hydrotreating Technology. Source: Baker & O’Brien
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About the song
“The End of the Innocence” was written by Don Henley and Bruce Hornsby. It appears as the first song on Don Henley’s third solo studio album of the same name. It was produced by Don Henley and Bruce Hornsby and released as a single in June 1989. It went to #1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance at the 32nd annual Grammy Awards in 1990. Personnel on the record were: Don Henley (vocals, drums), Bruce Hornsby (acoustic piano, keyboards), Jai Winding (keyboard bass), Michael Fisher (percussion), and Wayne Shorter (soprano sax solo).
The album The End of the Innocence was recorded in 1987-89 at A&M Studios and The Complex in Los Angeles. It was produced by Don Henley, Bruce Hornsby, Mike Campbell, John Corey, Danny Kortchmar and Stan Lynch. Released in June 1989, it went to #8 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and has been certified 6x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Five singles were released from the LP, three becoming Top 40 hits.
Don Henley is an American singer, musician, songwriter and record producer who is a founding member of the rock band The Eagles. He released his first studio album with the band Shiloh under the tutelage of Kenny Rogers in 1970. He met Glenn Frey in Los Angeles and they toured together in Linda Ronstadt’s band in 1971. Later that year they put together the original version of The Eagles with Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon and released their debut album in 1972. The Eagles broke up in 1980 and Henley embarked on a solo career then. The Eagles reunited in 1994 with Henley again on board. As a solo artist, Henley has released five studio albums, two compilation albums and 27 singles. As a member of The Eagles, he released seven studio albums, three live albums, 10 compilation albums and 30 singles. The Eagles have sold more than 200 million records worldwide. As a solo artist, Henley has won two Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards. As a member of the Eagles, he has won six Grammy Awards; was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame; and received Kennedy Center Honors. He continues to record and tour and will be appearing with The Eagles at The Sphere in Las Vegas from December through March 2025.
