Recently, U.S. Grains Council (USGC) staff and representatives, in partnership with Advanced Biofuels Canada, hosted a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) policy roundtable in coordination with a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agribusiness trade mission (ATM). Both missions sought to solidify and expand U.S. ethanol exports to the country.
The SAF policy roundtable brought government and industry leaders from Canada and the U.S. together to collaborate on how to move Canada’s SAF integration forward and continue decarbonizing the aviation sector.
USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor gave remarks about USDA’s support for U.S. ethanol exports to Canada and how SAF will contribute to the country’s effort to decarbonize the transportation sector.
Canada is the largest export market for U.S. ethanol, purchasing 603.9 million gallons in marketing year (MY) 2022/23 worth $1.7 billion. Within the first 10 months of MY 2023/2024, Canada has purchased 535.8 million gallons, valued at $1.2 billion.
The Canadian government plans to reduce its transportation sector’s carbon footprint and estimates its ethanol consumption could increase by 185 million gallons by 2030. Currently, the country has a national 5% blend mandate, and most of its provinces have mandated even higher blends.
“In addition to Canada’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ground transportation, the Government of British Columbia has mandated airplane fuel suppliers to blend their fuel with 1% SAF by 2028 and 3% SAF by 2030,” said Cary Sifferath, USGC vice president. “The SAF mandate is an opportunity for U.S. producers to capitalize on their existing ethanol market share and help Canada meet its SAF demand, and the Council hopes the mandate serves as an example for other Canadian provinces and countries worldwide to follow and further reduce their carbon emissions.”
Through meeting with government officials and industry stakeholders, the roundtable provided opportunities for the Council’s delegation to better understand how the U.S. can support Canada’s potentially significant increase in ethanol demand over the next several years.
The group also participated in separate meetings with Undersecretary Taylor; officials from the Government of British Columbia; GEVO, a company committed to developing bio-based alternatives to petroleum; the Government of Alberta; S&T Squared Consultants, which conducts environmental modeling and energy policy analysis; and the International Energy Agency.
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) hosted a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) policy roundtable with Advanced Biofuels Canada in Vancouver, Canada. Pictured, U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor (left, middle) spoke with the Council's delegation about future collaboration opportunities to increase U.S. ethanol exports to Canada.