US ethanol industry expands focus to lower-carbon aviation sector

The U.S. ethanol industry is lobbying the Biden administration to ensure lower-carbon aviation fuel made from ethanol will qualify for subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act, arguing such provisions are crucial to meeting U.S. climate goals. The campaign reflects the ethanol industry's desire to expand into aviation following years of stagnant demand for the corn-based fuel as an ingredient in gasoline, and projections that motor fuel demand will fall in the future due to better efficiency and the ascent of electric cars. "Over the last 18 months, there's been a growing recognition in our industry that long-term you've got to be looking at new uses and new markets and nontraditional applications for ethanol if we're going to continue to grow our industry and its value," said Geoff Cooper, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, one of the organizations involved in the push. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is considered vital to decarbonizing the hard-to-electrify airplane industry and the Biden administration is targeting at least 11.4b liters of SAF production per year in the United States by 2030 as part of its broader push to fight climate change. At issue is a requirement in the Biden administration's IRA package, signed into law last year, that SAF yield a 50% reduction in lifecycle emissions compared with petroleum-based jet fuel before it can qualify for a $1.25 tax credit. The lifecycle emissions impact of SAF can vary widely depending on the feedstock that producers use to make it, which can include a variety of substances ranging from soybean oil, to used cooking oil and animal fat.<br/>