FINANCIAL AND POLICY ANALYSIS ON AVIATION BIOFUEL

Carbon War Room, a business unit of the nonprofit research and educational foundation Rocky Mountain Institute, works to intervene in markets to accelerate the adoption of business solutions that reduce carbon emissions at gigaton scale and advance the low-carbon economy. As aviation contributes over two percent of annual greenhouse gas emission globally, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 to 80 percent or more. Since SAF is more expensive than conventional jet fuel, airlines are disincentivized to purchase SAF. Carbon War Room enlisted a Capstone team to conduct a market analysis of the supply side and public finance complement and evaluate potential leverage points to stimulate investment in SAF supply chains. The team identified existing policies, incentives, and other policy instruments that apply to SAF. The team's final report provided Carbon War Room with recommendations for the feasibility, implications, and concerns around using these public funds and a simple financial model to assess the amount of capital investment required to stimulate a commercial-scale SAF industry in the United States.