Low Carbon Fuels

Making Policy in the Absence of Certainty

  • by By Colin Murphy

Biofuels are an important tool to help decarbonize our transportation system, and their role will likely grow in coming years. New tax credits authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act are being finalized; these would offer significant incentives for the biofuel alternatives to conventional jet fuel, so-called “Sustainable Aviation Fuels” or SAF. But it’s not always clear how sustainable these fuels truly are, or whether they offer a significant GHG advantage over petroleum.

In-state oil refiners consider life after petroleum

Two major Bay Area refineries, owned and operated by Phillips 66 and Marathon Petroleum, announced in 2020 that they were planning to convert from producing petroleum to biofuels – specifically, the renewable diesel (RD) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Jet fuel made from plastic waste

New research shows a promising method for tackling worldwide plastic pollution through fuel production. Researchers have found a new approach to convert a common plastic, polyethylene, into jet fuel in about an hour. Plastic pollution is a major environmental and public health concern, and technological innovation will be critical to solving this seemingly intractable problem.

New industry coalition pushes for clean hydrogen

The Clean Hydrogen Future Coalition (CHFC) is a recently formed advocacy group made up of various oil, gas, and utility companies. The CHFC’s stated goal is to lower the costs of hydrogen production while utilizing existing fossil fuels. Many environmental advocacy groups disagree with the CHFC, stating that its proposed hydrogen techniques would not alleviate — and would in some cases exacerbate — environmental and social harms.
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