ABOUT CAAFI
Since 2006, the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) has sought to enhance energy security and environmental sustainability for aviation through the use of alternative jet fuels. CAAFI is a coalition of airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers, energy producers, researchers, international participants, and U.S. government agencies. Together these stakeholders are leading the development and deployment of alternative jet fuels for commercial aviation.
CAAFI’s goal is to promote the development, assesssment, and deployment of alternative jet fuel options that offer equivalent safety and favorable costs compared with petroleum-based jet fuel while offering environmental improvement and energy supply security for aviation.
The volatility in petroleum prices caused fuel to become the single largest component of U.S. airline operating costs for the first time in history in 2006. And concern about the environmental impacts of aviation growth is also rising within the international community. While U.S. commercial aviation consumes about 3 percent of U.S. total energy use, it drives about 6 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product and just under 9 percent of national employment. Secure and sustainable fuel sources are essential for its continued prosperity to the benefit of the American people.
Aviation is international in scope, highly integrated in its fuel supply chain, and, because of a significant ability to align and coordinate within the industry, well-positioned to pursue alternative fuels.
Functions & Focus
The CAAFI coalition focuses on the efforts of the commercial aviation sector to engage the emerging alternative fuels industry. CAAFI enables its diverse participants—representing all the leading stakeholders in the field of aviation—to build relationships, share and collect data, identify resources, and direct research, development, and deployment of alternative jet fuels. CAAFI hosts technical workshops, coordinates with domestic and international aviation interests, participates in energy and financial industry forums, and communicates with stakeholders via webinars, presentations, and print media.
CAAFI members are organized into teams focused on four areas:
01
Fuel Certification and Qualification
To ensure the safety of any alternative fuels given the demanding environment posed by aviation operations, CAAFI supported the development of a new synthetic aviation turbine fuels qualification process via the ASTM International standard setting body. Fuel qualification enables the safe use of alternative jet fuels and guarantees manufacturer, user, and regulatory confidence in them.
02
Research and Development
To improve understanding of the broad range of new fuel production technologies and feedstocks that can be applied to aviation, participants are sharing analyses and identifying and coordinating research activities.
03
Sustainability
To ensure that relevant environmental, social, and economic risks and performance metrics are understood and given consideration at every stage of alternative jet fuel development, evaluation, and deployment.
04
Business
To facilitate the deployment of alternative jet fuels in the marketplace, participants are connecting fuel producers and consumers, evaluating the business case for use of alternative jet fuel, and identifying opportunities for deployment.
CAAFI members meet regularly to share updates on the state of alternative jet fuel developments, identify gaps and challenges, and determine next steps in the research, development, and deployment process.
Leadership
CAAFI® activities are led by the Executive Committee of CAAFI, which is comprised of an Administrative Leadership Team and co-leaders of several work teams, and is guided by our organizational Sponsors and other key individuals via a regular Steering Group rhythm:
Administrative Leadership Team
Steve Csonka (2012 - Present)
CAAFI Executive Director
Steve Csonka is a commercial aviation professional with 39 years of broad airline, aerospace manufacturing, and fuels experience. Steve's strong technical background, which spans the breadth of the commercial aircraft/engine life-cycle, from design through operations, has led to engagements in business development and in long-term strategic planning for the aviation enterprise. Such work has focused on the nexus of future product requirements, technology progression, and industry value propositions, including aspects of policy, advocacy, regulatory affairs, and environmental impact. Steve is a strong industry advocate who seeks pragmatic solutions to the challenges of aviation sustainability, which has resulted in his current focus on alternative fuels and the work of CAAFI.
Open Position
CAAFI Assistant Director
Dr. Joe Ellsworth
Projects Director
Joe serves as a Projects Director responsible for crafting, leading, executing, and reporting on projects assigned by CAAFI’s Office of the Executive Director (OED). In addition to his work with CAAFI, Joe is Head of Business Development for Carbon Removal Solutions at Boeing and is responsible for developing new business opportunities directed at catalyzing carbon removal commercial scale-up. Prior to his current role, he was Head of Business Development for Sustainable Aviation Fuels at Boeing. Prior to that role, he served as a Patent Portfolio Manager on Boeing’s Intellectual Property Management team where he managed outside counsel in patent drafting and prosecution for materials, chemicals, and sustainable fuels. Prior to Boeing, he was a chemical patent attorney focused on biologics, pharmaceuticals, small molecules, catalysis, and fuels processing/upgrading. Joe has a PhD in chemistry from the University of South Carolina and his thesis focused on organic and inorganic synthesis of metal-organic frameworks for hydrogen storage and catalysis applications. He is an author/co-author on 18 peer reviewed publications.
Peter Herzig
Volpe Center/U.S. DOT, CAAFI Program Specialist
Peter serves as CAAFI's Program Specialist providing a variety of technical and coordination support. Peter is an Environmental Protection Specialist with the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. In addition to his work with CAAFI, Peter provides geospatial analyses for a variety of transportation infrastructure projects, including taxiway analyses and FAA's unstaffed infrastructure. Prior to joining Volpe, Peter worked on a number of projects aimed at the corporate adoption of responsible business practices for a more sustainable global economy.
Dr. Prem Lobo
U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Head Advisor for Strategy & Implementation
Prem is Head Advisor of CAAFI and provides management and strategy assistance to the Executive Director. He has over 20 years of experience in the aviation sector focused on fuels, technologies, and emissions. As the Energy Division Manager with the FAA’s Office of Environment and Energy, he is responsible for managing a broad portfolio of research, development, and deployment projects associated with sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and novel energy sources to mitigate the environmental and climate impacts of aviation. His primary focus on SAF is on supply chain development, life cycle assessment, emissions, testing, analysis, and policy. He coordinates the FAA’s engagement with SAF Grand Challenge interagency working group. Prem is a nominated member of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) Fuels Task Group where he co-leads the Technology, Production, and Policy subgroup.
Dr. Kristin C. Lewis
Volpe Center/U.S. DOT, Head Research and Technical Advisor
Kristin serves as the Head Research and Technical Advisor for CAAFI, providing technical and environmental coordination for the Executive Director. Kristin is a Principal Technical Advisor with the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. In addition to her work with CAAFI, Kristin has led the development of the Freight and Fuel Transportation Optimization Tool (FTOT) and supports the FAA’s participation in the ICAO Fuels Task Group (FTG) and as co-rapporteur of the Sustainability Certification Scheme Evaluation Group (SCSEG). Kristin has also participated in analyses on assessing impacts of aircraft noise on National Park visitors, environmental implications of hydrokinetic energy technologies, and impacts of fracking on motor vehicle carrier crash incidences, among others.
Timothy Hughes
Program Manager
Timothy joined the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) as a Projects Director in April 2024. Tim served as the Senior Trade Advisor for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) from 2019 through 2023. He moved to this position after serving three years as KDA’s Deputy Executive Director for the Office of Marketing and immediately before that the Director of Biofuels for the Kentucky Energy & Environment Cabinet. Prior to these roles, he served as the Senior Policy Analyst of the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy where he also held various other roles in agricultural development since 2004. Tim and his wife Lori own TLC Farms in Simpson County. He is a graduate of Western Kentucky University where he also served as their farm manager in 2002 and 2003. Tim has served as the state chairman of two young farmer groups and has played leadership roles in various national farm organizations.
Certification/ Qualification Team
Paul Wrzesinski
FAA Senior Technical Specialist - Aviation Fuels
After completing his PhD program in Chemistry at Michigan State University in 2011, Pual has been working as a Research Scientist and Chemist with multiple entities, including 9 years with the Air Force Research Laboratory with a focus on fuels.
Dr. Zach West
University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), Principal Research Engineer Group Leader, Fuel Science Fuels & Combustion Division
With a PhD. in Mechanical Engineering, plus 20 years of experience with UDRI, Zac now leads the U.S. SAF Clearinghouse Efforts for FAA ASCENT’s Project 031. At UDRI, Zach and his team provide fuel property and composition testing, facilitate the OEM review panel/approval process (see ASTM D4054), act as liaison between new producers and OEMs, and collaborate with developing Clearing Houses in the UK & EU.
R&D Team
Dr. Gurhan Andac
GE Aviation, R&D Co-Lead
Dr. Andac is the Engineering Leader for Aviation Fuels and Additives at GE Aviation. His past responsibilities have centered on gas turbine combustor aerodynamic design, fuels, and additives, encompassing the military, commercial, marine, and industrial platforms. He has extensive fuel testing and evaluation experience, and is deeply immersed in fuels certification, qualification, and specification development arenas. He holds M.S. and PhD Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California.
Andy McDaniel
Pratt & Whitney, R&D Co-Lead
Since 2022, Andy McDaniel has been providing expertise to the aviation enterprise as a Senior Principal Engineer | Fuels Specialist at Pratt & Whitney. Entering the industry with dual degrees in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Andy honed his expertise on fuels with 12 years of varying fuels experience working in the U.S. Navy on aviation fuels and energy research domains, including sustainable aviation fuels use, advanced fuel system design, applied data science, and advanced chemical test methods. He has also held leadership positions with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Dr. Joshua Heyne
University of Dayton, R&D Co-Lead
Dr. Heyne is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Dayton, Ohio, where he works to ignite passion and make a difference in students and society. Over the last five years, Professor Heyne has focused on aligning efforts and delivering objective criteria to help streamline the approval process of alternative jet fuels as part of the National Jet Fuels Combustion Program’s (NJFCP) 40 institutions and 150 members. Outside of the NJFCP’s integration and coordination role, Professor Heyne has worked on drop-in high-performance fuel (HPF) formulation for SAFs as well as other more fundamental combustion problems. The long-term aim of all this work is to marshal greater environmental and national security. He holds four degrees from three institutions, including a BSE from the University of Dayton, an MS from Penn State, and a PhD from Princeton.
Peter Kole
Boeing, R&D Co-Lead
Peter Kole is a Sustainable Aviation Fuel Engineer applying systems engineering and project management to help define the future of aviation in Boeing's Sustainability and Future Mobility Group. His background includes multiple degrees in Chemical Engineering and Management, as well as various research and engineering roles in academia and industry since 2010.
SAF ‘Ambassadors’
Richard L. Altman
CAAFI Executive Director, Emeritus 2006 - 2012
Rich spent 39 years with Pratt & Whitney, initially as a propulsion engineer then in Advanced Technology Business Development. He is a founding member of the US Transportation Research Board Committee on aviation effects on the environment and a member of the PARTNER Center of Excellence Advisory Board. Rich initiated the formulation of CAAFI with FAA in 2005. He now collaborates with various CAAFI constituents and SAF project activities, but as an independent contractor.
Chris Tindal
CAAFI Assistant Director, Emeritus 2018 - 2023
Chris joined CAAFI as Assistant Director after a 40-year career in the Navy. Previously, Chris was the Director for Operational Energy underneath the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Navy for Energy, where he was in charge of setting energy policy and direction for the Department of the Navy and promoting the adoption of alternative fuels and renewable energy resources. He was the Navy leader of the pioneering USDA/ DOE/ Navy Alternative Fuels Initiative which developed programs to launch the advanced biofuels industry, including the activities of the Great Green Fleet. Chris retired from CAAFI at the end of 2023, but still works as an independent consultant for the SAF industry, facilitating development efforts around the world. He also still serves the role of Queensland, Australia Biofutures Strategic Advisor.
Steering Group
Includes those members identified above, as well as at least one member from each of our organizational sponsors, plus key focals from Boeing, Airbus, USDA, DOE, FAA’s office of Environment and Energy, and the FAA Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT).
