SEATTLE — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is providing the state of Washington with more than $36 million in grant funding for sustainable aviation projects as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The grant comes from the Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition (FAST) program which seeks to increase the production and use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and the development of low-emission aviation technology.
According to a press release from Senator Patty Murray’s office, the FAST program is housed under the IRA, which Senator Murray worked to pass in 2022.
The grant program has two specific subsections that support the transition to using sustainable technology in aviation:
The SAF portion of the program provides grants to support projects within SAF production, transportation, blending and storage. It also provides money for studies related to the kinds of infrastructure needed for SAF.
The low-emission technology portion of the program provides grants to develop and demonstrate new aviation technology that improves fuel efficiency and reduces emissions.
The grant money will be split between four Washington companies that are working to create different kinds of sustainable technology within aviation.
The first company is BP America's Cherry Point Refinery in Blaine, Washington. They will receive $26,763,504 to fund the production and blending of SAF. The money provided is estimated to allow them to produce between 10 and 25 million gallons of SAF.
ZeroAvia, which has a hydrogen-electric propulsion research and development facility at Everett's Paine Field, will receive $4,235,000 to fund the designing, building, integration and testing of a suite of hydrogen fuel-cell powered propulsion system technologies.
Senator Murray wrote letters of recommendation for these two companies to receive this grant funding.
APiJET in Seattle will receive $4,500,000 to fund the creation of software for airlines that will recommend fuel-optimized routings that help reduce CO2 emissions.
Boeing in Tukwila will receive $2,595,523 to fund the development of a method to improve the measurement of fuel in an airplane fuel tank and allow for more accurate fuel load calculation.
“I was proud to fight to make sure this program made it into the Inflation Reduction Act and that Congress would fund this important initiative,” said Senator Murray. “These dollars will help propel us toward a stronger clean energy economy—by making sure we lead the world in research and innovation, creating more jobs and bringing down costs while becoming more sustainable and efficient over the long-term. As Senate Appropriations Chair, I want to make sure Washington state continues to lead the country in aerospace innovation and clean energy solutions—by bringing these federal dollars home, we are doing both.”
