Delta Air Lines is funding a study to see if twigs, branches and other wood debris can create jet fuel to help fly its West Coast planes.
The airline invested $2 million to partner with Northwest Advanced Bio-fuels LLC to study the feasibility of a bio-fuel production facility in Washington that could create fuel out of forest debris, the company said Tuesday in a statement. Delta is about one-fifth of the way toward its goal of cutting carbon emissions by 50% by 2050, according to the statement.
The sustainable jet fuel could be used in Delta’s operations in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Delta expects the study to be complete by mid-2020 and evaluate further steps with the project’s development. Northwest Advanced Bio-fuels plans first delivery of the fuel by the end of 2023.