Agenda

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Tuesday, August 25

1:00 pm – 2:30 pm General Session
Brought to you by the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI)
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Networking Break
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm General Session
Brought to you by the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI)
4:30 pm – 6:00 pm Grand Opening Evening Reception

Wednesday, August 26

7:30 am – 6:00 pm Expo Open
7:30 am – 8:30 am Breakfast / Dedicated Expo Time
8:30 am – 10:00 am Concurrent Sessions
Track 1: Policy, Systems, & Environmental Strategy
Building the Ecosystem: Aligning Infrastructure, Airports and Industry Partnerships
  • Pratik Chandhoke, Technical Manager, SAF, Neste US Inc.
    Collaborative Approach to Scaling Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Across the Value Chain
  • Wendy Avis, Director, Climate and Environment, Vancouver Airport Authority
    The Role of Airports in Supporting SAF: A Case Study from Vancouver International Airport
  • Julia Silvis, Managing Director, Research and Intelligence, Greater MSP
    How the Minnesota SAF Hub is leading SAF industry acceleration
  • Alyssa Norris, Director of Sustainability, Aether Fuels Inc.
    Aether's Project Beacon A Case Study in Scaling Next-Generation SAF Through Regional Ecosystem Alignment and Global Technology Collaboration
Track 2: Technology, Production & Feedstock Innovation
Sourcing the Feedstocks: Alternative Feedstocks for SAF Growth
  • Colin Cureton, Director of Commercialization, Adoption, and Scaling, University of Minnesota Forever Green Initiative
    Winter Camelina as a Scalable SAF Feedstock: A Cross-Sector Scaling Plan for the First Million Acres in the Upper Midwest
  • T. Edward Yu, Professor & Director of Graduate Studies, University of Tennessee
    SAF Supply Chains from Winter Canola in the Midsouth Region
  • Meghan Anderson, Biofuels Policy Manager, Friends of the Mississippi River
    Optimizing SAF for Clean Water and Biodiversity Outcomes: How sustainable aviation fuel can truly deliver for the environment
  • Joseph Bushinsky, Vice President, Business Development, Enviva
    From Pellets to Planes: De-risking Next Generation SAF Production
10:00 am – 10:30 am Networking Break/ Dedicated Expo Time
10:30 am - Noon Concurrent Sessions
Track 1: Policy, Systems, & Environmental Strategy
Creating Demand: Accelerating SAF Adoption Through Commercial Markets
Moderator: Seema Santhakumar, Hydrogen Market Dev Leader - Americas, Baker Hughes
  • Elizabeth Rolfes, Sustainability Analyst, American Express Global Business Travel
    SAF Market Update & the Role of Corporate Travel Programs
  • Javier Sabillon, Honduras Aviation Authority
    SAF Refinery in Honduras
  • Jerome Friler, CEO, Satarem America Inc.
    1G & 2G SAF Production using Alcohol to Jet
Track 2: Technology, Production & Feedstock Innovation
Converting Waste into Value: Waste, Carbon and Circular SAF Pathways
  • Jingran Zhang, Research Associate, Harvard University
    Powering Air Travel with Jet Fuel Derived from Municipal Solid Waste
  • Neal Yancey, BFNUF Operations Manager, Idaho National Laboratory
    Blending Wood Waste and MSW to Improve Performance and Economics of SAF
  • Joe Renwick, Co-Founder/Operator/Process Engineer/Broker, Green Energy Biofuel, LLC
    Strengthening Renewable Fuel Feedstock Supply via Waste-Stream Up-Cycling and Scalable Organics Recovery
  • Jeff Bonar, CEO, CapCO2 Solutions
    CO2 Utilization and E-Methanol - Crucial Enabling Steps Toward SAF
  • N. Ross Buckenham, Chairman & CEO, California Bioenergy LLC
    Delivered Renewable Natural Gas Feedstock
Noon – 1:00 pm Networking Lunch/ Dedicated Expo Time
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Concurrent Sessions
Track 1: Policy, Systems, & Environmental Strategy
Financing Projects: Structuring Capital for Commercial Deployment
Moderator: Seema Santhakumar, Hydrogen Market Dev Leader - Americas, Baker Hughes
  • Terry Baggett, Head of Business Development, Circularity Fuels
    Financing a First-of-a-Kind Modular SAF Plant: Lessons from Building a USDA 9003 Capital Stack and Multi-Layer Revenue Model
  • Mark Riedy, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson LLP
    State of the Art Funding and Contract Structures for SAF Projects
  • Santiago Gonzalez Hernandez, Managing Consultant, Technical Due Diligence & Sustainability, Ramboll
    Why Some SAF Projects Cross the Finish Line: Evidence from HEFA Conversions vs. Non HEFA FOAKs and the Policy Shift Ahead
Track 2: Technology, Production & Feedstock Innovation
Advancing Conversion Pathways — Part I: Thermochemical Technologies Beyond HEFA
  • Eric Seck, COO, Mercurius Biorefining
    Scaling SAF Beyond HEFA: Economic and Process Comparisons of Cellulosic Conversion Pathways Using REACH™ Technology
  • Gord Crawford, President & CEO, Expander Energy, Inc.
    Second Generation SAF Production from Biomass using Gasification and FT Technology
  • Denis Pchelintsev, Vice President of Engineering, Universal Fuel Technologies
    Flexiforming: A Catalytic Platform for Low-Cost SAF Production from Ethanol and Renewable Naphthas
  • Dan Szeezil, Vice President – Technology Commercialization , Alder Renewables
    From Sawdust to Sky: Converting Wood Waste into SAF via Refinery-Integrated Biocrude Pathways
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Networking Break / Dedicated Expo Time
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm Concurrent Sessions
Track 1: Policy, Systems, & Environmental Strategy
Navigating Policy: Managing the Regulatory and Carbon Accounting Landscape
  • Matthew Fischbacher, Director - Energy & Environment, Air Safety Organization, Air Line Pilots Association International
    Historical Policy Mechanisms Behind Successful Biofuel Deployment: Implications for Scaling SAF
  • Mengying Wu, Postdoctoral Associate, Harvard University
    Policy Interactions and the Cost of Decarbonizing Aviation
  • John Pierce, Partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
    The EU’s CBAM Impacts on U.S. Sustainable Aviation Fuel Market and Transatlantic Aviation
Track 2: Technology, Production & Feedstock Innovation
Advance Conversion Pathways — Part II: Hydrogen, eSAF and Synthetic Fuels
  • Guenther Brandstetter, General Manager, Solid Oxide Development, FuelCell Energy, Inc.
    Scaling Sustainable Aviation Fuel Beyond the Biofuels Ceiling: Co-Electrolysis as an Economic Pathway to eSAF
  • John McDougall, President and CEO, SynBioBlox Innovations Ltd.
    Bioconversion Pathways – The Foundation for Economical Synthetic Aviation Fuel
  • Ashwin Jadhav, Vice President of Business Development, Twelve
    Turning Air into Jet Fuel: Scaling Power-to-Liquid SAF from First Production to Commercial Flight
  • Sid Shah, Project Manager: Sustainable Aviation Fuel Platform, Siva Green Energies Inc.
    Hybrid RNG-to-Methanol and e-SAF Platform: A Scalable, Low-Carbon Pathway for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production in Canada
4:30 pm – 6:00 pm Networking Reception
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Thursday, August 27

7:30 am – 12:00 pm Expo Open
7:30 am – 8:30 am Breakfast / Dedicated Expo Time
8:30 am – 10:00 am Concurrent Sessions
Track 1: Policy, Systems, & Environmental Strategy
Understanding the Economics: Evaluating Costs, Pricing and Market Fundamentals
  • Sofía Cabrera, Price Reporter - Sustainable Aviation Fuel, S&P Global Commodity Insights
    From Feedstock to Fuel: Price Discovery in SAF and Renewable Diesel Markets
  • Miranda Nayyar, Senior Manager, Climate Change and Sustainability Services, EY - Ernst & Young
    How Can Aviation Afford its Sustainability Aspiration?
  • Timothy Hughes, Project Director, CAAFI (Com'l Aviation Alt. Fuels Init)
    The Promise, Progress & Potential of Sustainable Aviation Fuels
  • Keith Gillard, CEO & Co-Founder, SUSTAERO
    Beyond Sustainability: Redefining SAF Through the Lens of Continental Energy Security
Track 2: Technology, Production & Feedstock Innovation
Optimizing Production: Process Innovation and Feedstock Utilization
  • Enzo De Biase, Business Development Manager, NextChem
    Enhancing Pretreatment Flexibility Targeting Waste-Derived Bio-Feedstocks
  • Mark Mauss, President, Lutros, LLC
    New MonteTM is a Novel Fat, Oil and Grease Feedstock Purification System that Uses a Counter-current, Reactive-extraction Process for Feedstock Pretreatment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)Production
  • Yidong Xia, Ph.D., Distinguished Scientist, Idaho National Laboratory
    Making Biomass Flow like Dry Sand: A Way to Address the Bottleneck of Feedstock Handling
  • Dennis Long, Senior Director of Product Development, Sustainable Process Technologies, Watlow
    Electric Process Heating for Renewable Fuels Production
10:00 am – 10:30 am Networking Break / Dedicated Expo Time
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Track 1: Policy, Systems, & Environmental Strategy
Executing and Scaling: Building the Systems Needed for Sustainable Growth
  • Lisa Kosciuk, Founder & Chief Revenue Officer, Verdethos
    Lessons from Agricultural Commodity Traceability for U.S. SAF Feedstock Verification and GHG Accounting
  • David Ison, Aviation Planner, WSDOT
    Washington State as a SAF Hub: Integrating Feedstocks, Airports, and Policy to Reduce Delivered Fuel Costs
  • Chris Cassidy, Energy Advisor, USDA Rural Development
    USDA Programs for SAF Projects
  • Kristine Klavers, Managing Director, SAF & RD, EcoEngineers
    Navigating Global SAF Regulations to Maximize Value and Speed to Market
Track 2: Technology, Production & Feedstock Innovation
Digitizing and Accelerating: AI, Automation and Advanced Analytics
  • Timothy Daniel, Founder & CEO, Rimba
    AI Utilization for Feedstock Traceability, Compliance, and Mass Balance in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Supply Chains
  • Annie Nichols, General Manager of Clean Fuels, Mangrove Systems
    How SAF Producers Can Streamline CORSIA, RSB, and RFS Reporting with AI
  • Carson Merkwan, Director of Business Development, Direct Companies
    AI and Data Management
  • Peter Flippo, Director Business Development, Avantium Chemicals
    Benefits of High Throughput Testing for SAF Pathway Optimization
  • Bhupendra Khandelwal, Prof., The University of Alabama
    Multi-Objective Evaluation of SPK–SAK Blends as Sustainable Aviation Fuel Alternatives
12:00 pm Sessions Conclude
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