Item No.    7a_Supp 
Date:    August 15, 2017 
Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Program Update 
Stephanie Meyn 
August 15, 2017 

1

Sustainable Aviation Fuel Program 
2008-2014  Port is early supporter of research &
development 
2015-present  Port shifts to a Market Development role 
exploring: 
How to support fuel integration & infrastructure 
How to help with incremental cost of fuel 
How to help incentivize biofuel production in WA 
The Port's role is expanding to support sustainable aviation fuel market development

How Are Aviation Biofuels Produced? 
Hydroprocessed lipids (HEFA)     Only one in
commercial
Fischer Tropsch (FT & FT/A)       production 
Alcohol to Jet (AtoJ) 
Biochemical sugars (HFS) 
15 additional processes going through approval  including HEFA+ 

Five aviation biofuels pathways approved, only one is in commercial production 
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State of the Market 
Only one in
commercial
production 




Image courtesy: CAAFI 
Dozens of off-take agreements signed. Only one facility is in production 
4

State of the Market - cont'd 


Image courtesy: CAAFI 
State of the market will only improve with stable & reliable feedstocks, technologies, policies, and end markets 
5

First refinery on-line in 2016 

AltAir Facility in Paramount, CA 
First dedicated US production facility for HEFA and renewable diesel fuels 
Repurposing of shuttered refinery 
Tallow feedstock initially 
The first aviation biofuel facility in the U.S. took many years to get to production 
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AltAir Facility Context 
Capacity is 40 M gallons 
Only 2 M gallons per year of bio-jet, which could
increase to 4M
Remainder (38 M gallons) is renewable diesel
for on-road transportation 
Bio-jet = <1% of total Jet-A use at LAX 
Market dynamics dictate how much jet fuel vs other products to make at a facility 
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AltAir's Successful Ingredients 
Low Carbon Fuel Standard  renewable diesel price 
Federal and state grants 
Off-take agreement (renewable jet fuel) 
Shuttered refinery 
Availability of feedstocks 
Sales of high value co-products 

Some of the successful ingredients are in WA, others are not 
8

Regional Roadmap to Aviation Biofuels Production 



If SEA wanted bio-jet in the next 1-5 yrs, it would have to come from non-food oil crops grown outside WA 
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Innovative Funding Study - Scope 
What role the Port of Seattle could play
in: 
Covering the incremental cost of
sustainable aviation fuels 
Incentivizing or financing
sustainable aviation fuel infrastructure 
Innovative Funding Study explored support for fuel costs and infrastructure costs

European Model for Airport-based
Biofuel Program 
Airlines               Airport 

Corporations 
European airports along with airlines and corporations have supported aviation biofuels together

Financial Mechanism Evaluation 
Developed list of 14 possible fund sources 
Evaluated based on revenue potential and feasibility 
o   legal considerations 
o   ease of implementation 
o   airline impact 
o   neighboring community impact 
o   other stakeholder impacts 
Financial mechanisms were evaluated based on their revenue potential and feasibility

Biofuel Co-Benefits     Airport Precedent 
Pre-conditioned
Air Quality                      Air 
Core Mission of
Economic Development  Port 
Renewable Energy
Climate 
Credits (RECs) 
Reputation       License to
Operate and Grow 

While airports can't buy fuel directly, they might be able to use funds to pay for the fuel's co-benefits

Most Viable Funding Sources 
To achieve a 1% blend, a combination of four
funding sources needed:
1) Corporate Funding Program 
2) Tax Levy 
Requires FAA approval: 
3) Non-Aeronautical Revenue 
4) Aeronautical revenue 
The most viable funding sources include a combination of Airport and non-Airport Revenue streams

Possible Options for Port 
Partnered approach 
1% blend ($7 M/yr) paid for via central fund from multiple
sources; work with airlines & partners to approach FAA 
Larger investment by Port 
1 to 5% blend ($7 - 30 M/yr) paid for with Port mechanisms 
Legislative-focused approach 
Market signal is sent via a WA-based Low Carbon Fuel Standard 
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