NEW YORK — With 2.5% profit margins and the harsh reality of aviation physics, Alaska Air Group needs to be strategic when betting on low-carbon technology. That includes partnering with Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures on sustainable aviation fuel and backing companies developing fuel-efficient aircraft.
Those were two takeaways from Ryan Spies, Alaska Air’s managing director of sustainability, speaking Wednesday at Bloomberg Green New York.
Aviation contributes 2.5% of global carbon dioxide emissions, but can account for up to 5% of global warming due to additional atmospheric effects, experts say.
Currently, the primary strategy for curbing emissions is using sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF. Made from sources such as used cooking oil, agricultural waste, forestry waste and captured carbon, SAF can be blended with conventional jet fuel. The trouble is that production comes nowhere near matching demand, supplying less than 1% of aviation fuel today.
To address the shortage, Seattle-based Alaska Air Group — parent company of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines — partnered last year with other carriers and Breakthrough to create a $150 million fund backing SAF innovators. The fund relies on Breakthrough’s experts to identify the most viable feedstocks, smartest chemistries, and strongest economics.
And while SAF has typically been much more expensive than conventional fuels, the Iran War and its impacts on international oil shipping is changing that math.
“Six months ago, sustainable aviation fuel was absolutely more expensive than jet fuel,” Spies said at the event, which is part of Climate Week NYC. “If you went to a producer of SAF today, you can get a pretty competitive price compared to jet.”
The market volatility has also heightened interest in SAF as a tool for U.S. energy independence, rather than just an environmentally friendly alternative.
In January, Pacific Northwest officials from organizations including Alaska Air, Amazon, Boeing, SkyNRG and government representatives launched the Cascadia Sustainable Aviation Accelerator to establish the region as a SAF hub. Startup Twelve is already producing fuel in Moses Lake, Wash., and Montana Renewables has emerged as a sector leader.
While SAF is being deployed today, Alaska Air is also eyeing next-generation aircraft designs. Two years ago, the airline announced an investment in JetZero, a company developing a blended-wing body aircraft that aims to slash fuel use in half. JetZero hopes to fly a prototype next year and begin carrying passengers in 2030, the Seattle Times reported Sunday.
“An aircraft that can carry “200 plus passengers that can reduce fuel usage by 50% through better aerodynamics — that’s a game-changing development,” Spies said.
Alaska Air has also backed Ampaire, a startup Spies called “the Prius of aviation” due to its hybrid-electric drivetrain. The system is currently designed for smaller, eight-seat aircraft, and Spies said the company was excited to bring Ampaire to Hawaii.
Although a blended-wing aircraft would be a noticeable departure from today’s flying experience, climate-related changes coming to the aviation over the next decade will be less obvious as the fuel changes and incremental advances are made.
Advancing aviation sustainability remains a slow process and one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize, Spies said, “because of pure physics.”
