PIT Hydrogen & SAF Hub
The PIT Hydrogen & SAF Hub is a groundbreaking initiative to accelerate regional and national sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) development. This project is poised to deliver significant benefits to the Southwestern Pennsylvania and Appalachian regions and the aviation sector, fostering growth and development.
Cleaner Aviation, Now Boarding
Priorities
Strengthen industry collaboration:
Foster partnerships to co-create scalable, cost-effective SAF solutions. Utilize local waste coal mine methane (CMM) to transform regional disadvantages into competitive advantages, directly supporting SAF Grand Challenge goals identified by the U.S. Department of Energy, Transportation and Agriculture.
Promote regulatory alignment:
Engage with government bodies to align project initiatives with public policy objectives and incentives, particularly as it relates to using CMM under the 45V hydrogen production tax credit. This collaboration aims to facilitate mutual understanding and cooperation, securing necessary approvals and support for achieving shared environmental and economic targets.
Enhance community and multi-sector engagement:
Establish robust partnerships across sectors to maximize regional benefits, focusing on job creation, economic growth, air quality improvement, and sustainable energy security.
Project Description
The production process would use autothermal reforming (ATR) to produce a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide called synthetic gas (syngas). Hydrogen can be removed from the syngas for alternative uses or can remain and be sent to the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reactor to produce liquid hydrocarbon fuels. This technology pathway benefits from being mature and has the ability to produce jet fuel at a commercial scale. The facility could produce up to 5,000 barrels per day or nearly 70,000,000 gallons annually of gas-to-liquids alternative fuel utilizing on-site natural gas blended with ultra-low carbon intensity waste methane. Captured CMM provided by CNX would be used as a feedstock to the process, resulting in a SAF product that can reduce the lifecycle carbon emissions of air travel drastically.
Produced from a variety of sources, including waste feedstocks, SAF is a drop-in fuel that can reduce the lifecycle carbon emissions of air travel, making it the aviation sector’s best decarbonization lever available to reach net zero. Such a shift not only advances sustainability but firmly positions Pittsburgh as a leader in eco-friendly aviation practices.
Unique to the Appalachian region, the project’s blending of on-site natural gas with captured waste methane will turn fugitive emissions into a usable, ultra-low emissions fuel with a drastically reduced carbon intensity (CI) score.
Legacy abandoned and inactive mines continue venting methane to the atmosphere decades after they stop producing coal. CMM emissions account for 8% of total U.S. methane emissions, of which 80% are concentrated in the Appalachian region.
The PIT Hydrogen & SAF Project will turn this pollution into a beneficial, clean fuel source that can cut emissions from a high polluting sector while creating jobs and redefining the energy transition in our region.
Capturing and using CMM supports U.S. DOE Justice40 priorities through creating and preserving good-paying methane capture jobs, and by decreasing environmental burdens in disadvantaged Appalachian regions.
The regions and populations surrounding the SAF project and potential waste methane capture operations are often characterized as disadvantaged communities with high poverty rates, high socioeconomic burdens, and declining population due in large part to declining availability of mining related employment.
Projects to capture coal mine methane and conversion into SAF can make a noticeable contribution in the just transition to clean energy. The PIT Hydrogen & SAF Project is expected to support approximately 3,000 direct construction jobs, including many in local building trades, throughout the development phase.
Locating SAF and natural gas production near demand (PIT property) will enhance fuel supply reliability by doubling onsite storage and further stabilize supply in the event of disruptions. Once complete, the facility could produce approximately 70 million gallons of SAF annually, which is enough to supplant nearly all current jet fuel consumption at PIT while allowing for delivery of SAF to nearby regional airports enabling large-scale adoption.
By investing locally and using the fuels to meet local demand, the project will shield the region from global supply chain risks, weaning us from global supply chain footprints stretching tens of thousands of miles to a local one that’s tens of miles long.
Key Features
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Economic Growth
Regional Benefits
Job Creation: Project will generate diverse employment opportunities during the construction and ongoing operation phases, especially in CMM capture and SAF production.
Increased Revenue: Enhanced employment will boost local and regional economic activities, increasing consumer spending and tax revenues.
Economic Enhancement: The project will foster inter-business activity and consumer spending, further bolstering the regional economy without transferring high SAF costs to passengers.
Industry Collaboration
Innovation Acceleration: The project addresses significant barriers to SAF adoption, including feedstock scarcity, technology maturity, and production costs, while reducing lifecycle emissions and streamlining SAF distribution logistics.
Market Expansion: The project makes SAF a cost-competitive alternative to conventional fuels by mitigating these barriers, thus expanding its market.
Environmental Progress
Reduced Carbon Footprint: Utilizing CMM for SAF production significantly lowers greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional jet fuel.
Sustainable resource use: The project promotes the circular economy by repurposing waste methane from coal mines, preventing its release into the atmosphere, and converting it into a valuable energy resource.
If the U.S. Department of Treasury enables the use of ultra-low carbon intensity waste coal mine methane (CMM) under the 45V hydrogen production tax credit, the PIT Hydrogen SAF project is expected to support 3,000 direct construction jobs through the development phase.
3,000
Construction
Jobs
Estimated Project Development Timeline*
I. Concept development phase and development site selection
II. Development of project financing strategy
III. Evaluate eligibility of project and feedstock under Section 45V tax credit (guidance anticipated in 2024) and 45Z tax credit
2024
IV. Commence Preliminary Engineering Phase (Pre-FEED) and permitting
V. Commence Final Engineering (FEED Phase) and advancement of permitting
2025
V. Final investment decision and commence construction
2026 – 2027
*Please refer to our Cautionary Statement below
Mission
About Us
To harness Appalachia’s unique resources for a sustainable future, repurposing local pollutant waste coal gas into sustainable aviation fuel that meets community and stakeholders economic and environmental goals.
To become a pioneering model for the energy transition by leveraging regional strengths to produce sustainable fuel solutions that drive environmental and economic revitalization both locally and nationally.
Vision
"Establishing a hub for hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel at the Pittsburgh International Airport is a transformational milestone in our energy and transportation future, and I commend the public, private and labor leaders involved in bringing this opportunity to fruition."
Matt Smith
Chief Growth Officer – Allegheny Conference on Community Development
"As Business Manager for the Pittsburgh Regional Building and Construction Trades representing 19 different craft sectors and over 33 Local Unions in Pittsburgh and surrounding communities supporting over 60 thousand highly skilled, highly trained diverse local trade professionals, we strongly support efforts to lead the nation and build a hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel economy in southwestern Pennsylvania."
Greg Bernarding
Executive Business Manager
Western Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council
"Creating more than 3,000 much-needed construction jobs through this initial project (and many more over the next 15 years via additional projects) in our area makes perfect sense and makes the cost of transporting people and cargo more economical and less carbon intensive."
Kenneth Broadbent
Business Manager
Steamfitters Local #449
"This exciting project opens the door for Western Pennsylvania to lead the nation in sustainable aviation fuel—and that could be a big win for our workers, local economy, and efforts to cut emissions and meet new energy standards."
Chris Deluzio
U.S. Representative
“As the only state to secure two regional clean hydrogen hubs, the future of clean energy is running through Pennsylvania, and as we build out these hydrogen hubs over the next several years, we’ll see more innovation, job creation, and opportunity coming to our Commonwealth. We’re proving that you don’t have to choose between protecting the planet and protecting jobs ...”
PA Governor
Josh Shapiro
““Because of this exciting new project, Pittsburgh International Airport will become home to one of the largest facilities in the Nation that specializes in the innovative process of using hydrogen gas to produce sustainable aviation fuel. It will help support thousands of new union jobs and provide a look at how cutting-edge innovation in Pennsylvania is helping to build the energy economy of the future.”
US Senator
Bob Casey
What They're Saying
KeyState Energy is a privately held, Pennsylvania headquartered, Development Company of large-scale, energy and manufacturing projects, which have both dramatic emission reduction impacts and generational job and economic impacts. This is accomplished through a proprietary integration of innovative natural gas extraction, which avoids 99% of fugitive methane emissions, combined with the separation, capture and geological sequestration of 99% of the CO2 in the natural gas to produce hydrogen. The result is products meeting the most stringent requirements for Qualified Clean Hydrogen, with uses including mobility and aviation fuels, fertilizers, critical chemicals and power. KeyState Energy is Developer of KeyState Natural Gas Synthesis, in Clinton Co. Pa., a part of the ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub, and of KeyState-Virginia, in Wise, County, Va. with additional project announcements forthcoming. www.KeyState.net
CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) is unique. We are a premier, ultra-low carbon intensive natural gas development, production, midstream, and technology company centered in Appalachia, one of the most energy abundant regions in the world. With the benefit of a 160-year regional legacy, substantial asset base, leading core operational competencies, technology development and innovation, and astute capital allocation methodologies, we responsibly develop our resources and deploy free cash flow to create long-term per share value for our shareholders, employees, and the communities where we operate. As of December 31, 2023, CNX had 8.74 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor's Midcap 400 Index. Additional information is available at www.cnx.com.
Allegheny County Airport Authority, which manages Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and Allegheny County Airport (AGC), is committed to transforming Pittsburgh's airports to reflect and serve the community, inspire the industry, and advance the region's role as a world leader. PIT was named by Fast Company magazine as One of the Most Innovative Companies in the World as well as a finalist in its World Changing Ideas awards, both in 2020. PIT's first-of-its-kind microgrid has won numerous awards for resiliency and sustainability. For more information, visit www.flypittsburgh.com.
Contact Information
Additional News
For additional news and ongoing updates on this project, take a look at the following sites.
Statements of future events, investments, or partnerships described in this release are forward-looking statements. Actual future results, including project plans, partner participation, timing, capacities, and costs could differ materially depending on a number of factors including the ability to execute operational objectives on a timely and successful basis; implementation of government frameworks and permitting for carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, ammonia and other lower-emission technologies; implementation of guidance and final regulation permitting eligibility of coal mine methane as a feedstock for the production of clean hydrogen and/or SAF under applicable tax credit and incentive programs; availability of financing, regulatory approvals, timely completion of construction projects; commercial and consumer interest in lower-emissions opportunities; changes in plans or objectives prior to final funding decisions or project startups; unforeseen technical or operational difficulties. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the initial press release and the companies named herein disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
Cautionary Statement
Goals
Leverage regional assets to transform captured CMM and locally produced natural gas into cost-effective, low carbon intensity (CI) SAF, supporting the regional transition to sustainable aviation fuels.
Optimize production processes and collaborate with stakeholders to reduce SAF costs, facilitate broader adoption within the aviation sector, and enhance fuel security.
Strengthen the global jet fuel supply chain by introducing a stable, locally-produced SAF supply, thereby creating efficiencies and reducing dependency on traditional fuel sources.
Scale up SAF production to meet and surpass the targets set by the U.S. SAF Grand Challenge, thereby advancing the aviation industry’s decarbonization efforts.
Cut U.S. methane emissions by repurposing CMM for SAF production, contributing to national efforts to develop low-carbon intensity fuels.