The governments are committing about $3 million to study a sustainable aviation fuel facilty
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Governments are providing financial assistance to help support a study about sustainable avian fuel (SAF).
Through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the provincial and federal governments are contributing $2.9 million over two years to Azure Sustainable Fuels Corp. to help the organization conduct a front end engineering design (FEED) study for SAF.
FEED studies are conducted after the conceptual design or feasibility study.
“FEED maximizes the project value by fully defining the project early and establishes a price for the execution phase of the project” Blackridge Research & Consulting says.
In Azure Sustainable Fuels Corp.’s case, the study will help determine the engineering, efficiency and development needs to construct a renewable fuel production facility in Portage La Prairie.
Once operational, the facility could produce about one billion litres of SAF annually from crops like canola and soybeans.
To put that volume into perspective, a Boeing 747-400F has a maximum fuel capacity of about 216,846 litres, Epic Flight Academy says.
Therefore, one billion litres of SAF could help fuel about 4,611 Boeing 747s.
This opportunity represents the role farmers play in innovation and a greener future.
“The agriculture sector plays an important role in creating sustainable decarbonization solutions that add value to Manitoba by growing revenue and employment,” Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn said in a Dec. 19 statement. “This is a cutting-edge project for Manitoba farmers and oilseed processors. It is an opportunity to advance ongoing efforts to further Manitoba’s world-class sustainable farming practices.”
Former Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, former provincial ag minister Derek Johnson and former federal minister of agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau previously announced support for the project in June.
A successful transatlantic flight using 100 per cent SAF happened in November.
Virgin Atlantic Flight100 flew from London Heathrow Airport to New York JFK using about 50 tons of SAF.