Sustainable Aviation Fuel Hub Proposed for Pittsburgh Airport

A $1.5 billion project at Pittsburgh International Airport to make hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from coal mine methane is being proposed, but only if tax credits are available.

KeyState Energy, CNX Resources Corp. and the airport recently announced the collaboration that could bring a hydrogen and aviation fuel hub to the airport. However, the financial viability of the project rests with a determination now being made by the U.S. Department of Treasury about the types of hydrogen production that will qualify for tax credits. The department is now writing the rules for the sliding scale credit, which will be based on the carbon intensity of the method by which the hydrogen is produced.

Hydrogen can be produced in a number of ways, including by using electricity from renewable energy sources to split hydrogen atoms from water, which is called green hydrogen, or with nuclear energy, to make purple hydrogen. But most hydrogen today is made from natural gas, which is primarily methane, using a process called steam reformation. However, it creates carbon dioxide emissions, which must be captured and stored to be considered clean, or blue, hydrogen.

Federal legislation has allocated billions in funding to move the clean hydrogen industry forward to help reduce emissions from hard-to-abate sectors, like steel and cement manufacturing and transportation, including aviation. Regulations surrounding a tax credit for clean hydrogen production are now being written.

Coal mine methane is a naturally occurring emission that comes from operating and closed mines and is the responsible for 8% of U.S. methane emissions. It is usually vented directly into the atmosphere, but it could be captured and used like natural gas. Methane is a greenhouse gas (GHG) that is more than 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 100-year time period in contributing to climate warming.

The planned facility can produce only hydrogen, up to 68,000 metric tons annually, or up to 70 million gallons of SAF a year. The partners are evaluating several potential market targets for SAF and clean hydrogen. With the tax credit, the facility could produce enough SAF to nearly replace traditional jet fuel use at the Pittsburgh airport at a competitive cost.

KeyState, which is also developing a hydrogen facility in central Pennsylvania, would serve as project developer and will secure financing while CNX, based in Canonsburg, will provide feedstock services and technical support. CNX, which split off from Consol Energy in 2017, has the rights to coal mine methane from mines it used to own.

CNX and the airport have had a partnership since 2014 that has helped make it one of the most sustainable in the world entirely powered by a microgrid using natural gas and solar energy.