Story ID: 441 4Air
4Air: Tackling SAF Assurance and Contrails
By: David Donald
Caption: Knowing where the SAF comes from and what its sustainability attributes are is an increasingly important requirement for operators.
Word Count: 298
Aviation offset and decarbonization specialist 4Air (Booth Y111) recently rolled out a new Assure SAF Registry program to provide a digital registry for documenting, tracing, and accounting for the sustainability benefits of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Company president Kennedy Ricci told AIN that the program is designed to help operators navigate through what he called a "messy supply chain." Currently in the pilot phase, the program aims to provide transparency by gathering data from suppliers at all levels. Data includes the feedstock used to produce the SAF, the blend of the fuel, and any sustainability certifications earned or regulatory programs for which the fuel may be eligible. The registry will accommodate both physical and book-and-claim approaches.
The company is also working with Cambridge University through its Aviation Impact Accelerator program to study how to prevent contrails. It has been ascertained that contrails, which form high-altitude cirrus clouds, have a deleterious effect on the environment because these clouds trap heat more than other types and thus accelerate climate change. But just how bad they are has yet to be accurately determined.
Avoiding contrails via flight plan changes can mitigate the heat-trapping issue, but route and altitude changes can entail additional fuel burn and subsequent higher carbon emissions. Studies are underway to quantify the issue so operators can understand that the environmental benefits of not making contrails can outweigh the effects of possibly using more fuel.
4Air arrives at EBACE 2023 having recently reached 100 customers for its consultancy and advisory services. The sustainability specialist is helping a wealth of customers—from business aircraft owners to airlines—to optimize their use of SAF and maximize their claims in support of aircraft carbon emissions mandate compliance.