Representatives of the U.S. biofuels industry, including Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Government Affairs Ed Hubbard, joined a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) policy roundtable in Vancouver, Canada recently on the sidelines of a USDA agribusiness trade mission.

The U.S. Grains Council and Advanced Biofuels Canada hosted the roundtable that included remarks from USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor and meetings to better understand how the U.S. can support Canada’s potentially significant increase in ethanol demand over the next several years.

Canada is the largest export market for U.S. ethanol, purchasing 603.9 million gallons worth $1.7 billion in marketing year (MY) 2022/23 and has purchased 434.3 million gallons so far in MY 2023/2024. The Canadian government is attempting to reduce the carbon footprint of its transportation sector and estimates that its ethanol consumption could increase by 185 million gallons by 2030. Currently, the country has a national five percent blend mandate, but 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 one percent SAF by 2028 and three percent 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 that the mandate serves as an example for other Canadian provinces and countries worldwide to follow and further reduce their carbon emissions.”