Delta Air Lines – in Collaboration with Shell and Portland International Airport (PDX) – Takes PDX’s First Commercial-Scale SAF Delivery
400,000 gallons of blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was received by Delta Airlines at PDX earlier this month.
(Portland International Airport) Delta Airlines (NYSE: DAL), in collaboration with Shell (NYSE: SHEL) and Portland International Airport (PDX), announced this evening (Sept. 3) that it has taken delivery of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into the PDX fuel system, marking the first commercial-scale SAF uplift at PDX.
Photo of Portland’s Zenith Terminal, which initially received the delivery of neat SAF – prior to its blending and final delivery to Delta Air Lines at PDX – courtesy of Delta Air Lines.
Per today’s press release from Delta, the achievement both expands Delta’s SAF footprint and positions PDX – which is owned and operated by the Port of Portland – to capitalize on the continued growth of SAF across the United States.
For reference, SAF is an alternative jet fuel made from renewable sources that can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by more than 80% when compared to conventional jet fuel.
Shell supplied the initial neat SAF shipment – which was made in the U.S. from waste-derived feedstock – to Zenith Terminal in Portland, where it was blended with traditional jet fuel to meet regulatory requirements. The resulting 400,000 gallon supply of blended SAF was then delivered to PDX via barge, truck and pipeline; it subsequently entered the airport’s privately owned fuel supply system earlier this month, according to Delta.
“Every SAF delivery is a powerful example of how industry collaboration can unlock markets for sustainable aviation fuel,” said Charlotte Lollar, Delta’s SAF director. “By working with Shell and the Port of Portland to tap into existing infrastructure, we’re able to access SAF at more airports and continue to prove its viability and ultimately scale it in a way the industry needs.”
Port of Portland Chief Aviation Officer Dan Pippenger said: “We’re excited about this step toward bringing Sustainable Aviation Fuel to PDX. It’s a move that can help improve local air quality and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, which is great news for our communities. We’re looking forward to working with our partners to make sure state and local policies support development of the infrastructure and market needed to bring SAF here on a larger scale – and unlock all of the health and environmental benefits it offers.”
Existing jet fuel infrastructure can be leveraged to deliver SAF to airports today, and it is safe to use in current aircraft engines. However, the technology to produce it remains nascent, so it is expensive and not widely available — there is not enough SAF in production today to fuel the world’s airlines for a single week, according to Delta.
“This is why the work to scale SAF and bring it to new markets, like Portland, is so important,” reads today’s press release.
