Delta, Chevron Partner with Google on Emissions Tracking for Sustainable Fuels

By Kimberly Chin

Delta Air Lines Inc. and Chevron Corp., alongside Alphabet Inc.'s Google, have banded together on an initiative that would help track and analyze the emissions of sustainable aviation fuels, or SAF.

Google will build a data and analytics platform that tracks and analyzes emissions data from the sustainable fuels being produced by Chevron and examines how the fuels are being burned in Delta flights.

The data from the pilot program can provide information to Chevron and Delta on their emissions footprint through the fuel's lifecycle and how to make sustainability improvements, said Larry Cochrane, director of Global Energy Solutions at Google Cloud.

The initiative will help "create a common, more transparent model for analyzing potential greenhouse gas emissions reductions that could then be adopted by organizations considering SAF programs," the companies said in a statement.

Chevron will produce a test batch of SAF for the effort, using crushed soybean oil at its El Segundo, Calif., refinery, the company said. Chevron last week invested $600 million toward a joint venture with Bunge Ltd., the world's largest soybean processor, that would give Chevron future feedstock from the agricultural giant's soybean processing facilities for conversion into renewable fuels.

The oil major will sell the sustainable fuels to Delta for use at its Los Angeles International Airport hub.

SAF costs up to three and a half times as much as conventional fuel, according to S&P Global Platts, a provider of benchmark prices for commodities and energy markets. The high costs make using and scaling sustainable fuels a challenge.

Delta has pledged to replace 10% of its jet fuel with sustainable fuels by 2030.

"This partnership has the potential to help us achieve that goal while providing important data and analytics that demonstrate the environmental integrity of our commitment," Amelia DeLuca, Delta's managing director of sustainability, said.

Write to Kimberly Chin at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 07, 2021 16:24 ET (20:24 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.