april2022 - 32

Fueling Focus
leadership. First, no current unleaded
fuels qualify as a drop-in replacement for
100LL avgas for 100 percent of the fleet,
and the FAA requires type certification
for engines and aircraft to use different
fuels. Second, the limited quantity
of unleaded fuel being produced is not
widely available for airports. And, third,
the entire aircraft fleet and engines do
not satisfactorily operate with fuels less
than 100 octane.
Considerable work must be done to
address the environmental and regulatory
challenges associated with piston
aviation fuels, while protecting aviation
safety and the economic health of airport
sponsors, users and operators. Industry
stakeholders and federal legislators must
reach consensus on steps to phase out
avgas in a manner that is well-organized
and intentional, and recognize this must
be accomplished at the national level.
In order to eliminate the one-byone
risks presented at airports where
local interests seek to close airports for
fuel-related emissions, this involves
establishing federal legislation that
incentivizes suppliers and presenting
regulatory groups a feasible solution
that first maintains the integrity of the
national air transportation system.
For example, the Biden administration
has proposed a sustainable aviation
fuel tax credit to help cut costs and
rapidly scale domestic production of sustainable
fuels for aviation. The proposed
tax credit requires at least a 50 percent
reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas
emissions and offers an incentive for
32 || Ground Support Worldwide || April 2022
greater reductions. Other actions include
a new federal challenge to increase production
of sustainable aviation fuels to at
least 3 billion gallons per year by 2030; up
to $4.3 billion in new and ongoing funding
to support fuel projects and fuel producers;
and an increase in research and
development activities for technologies
that improve aircraft fuel efficiency by at
least 30 percent.
However, to achieve a complete conversion
to unleaded avgas in the U.S.,
critical supply chain issues must be
addressed to ensure alternative sustainable
aviation fuel is widely and reliably
available. At the present time, there are
very limited and undesirable alternatives
available, such as the use of low-tech
methanol or water additives and costly
diesel engine conversions.
With the Biden administration planning
to release an aviation climate action
plan in the coming months, it is critically
important that any future deployment of
unleaded aviation gas be consistent with
aviation safety. To this end, a collaboration
of aviation industry organizations
is working to increase federal funding
for the FAA Alternative Fuels for General
Aviation program in fiscal year 2022.
Operated by the FAA William J. Hughes
Technical Center, this program has
established testing methodologies and
requirements to support an efficient and
safe fleet-wide authorization and deployment
of alternative aviation fuel.
In a letter addressed to leaders of two
Congressional committees last November,
aviation groups asked to increase
april2022

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