New Regional Initiative Puts WSU Tri Cities At The Center Of Sustainable Aviation Progress (Photo) - 01/15/26
RICHLAND, Wash. — Washington State University Tri-Cities is positioned to play a central role in the state’s most ambitious effort to advance sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), following the launch of the Cascadia Sustainable Aviation Accelerator (CSAA).
Unveiled Jan. 8 at the Boeing Future of Flight in Everett, the accelerator will bring together state leadership, private-sector partners, research institutions, Tribal representatives, labor and community stakeholders to rapidly scale the production and adoption of low-carbon aviation fuels. Funded through a 2025 legislative appropriation and additional philanthropic support, CSAA is the most comprehensive initiative of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.
Two WSU Tri-Cities faculty from the Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Lab — BSEL Director Josh Heyne and Research Assistant Professor Harrison Yang — were on-hand during the launch event to demonstrate and discuss their lab's SAF testing programs with other guests. WSU system President Besty Cantwell was an invited speaker, and more than 210 government and industry leaders — including Washington Governor Bob Ferguson attended the event.
WSU Tri-Cities research driving real-world impact
WSU is a lead research partner in CSAA, leveraging more than a decade of national leadership in sustainable aviation. Much of that work is happening at WSU Tri-Cities, home to one of the most comprehensive SAF testing and evaluation facilities in the country: the Sustainable Options in Aviation Research (SOAR) Lab and BSEL.
“WSU Tri-Cities provides the applied research and testing capabilities that make this work real,” said WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor, Sandra Haynes. “From validating fuels to supporting certification and commercialization, our researchers are helping the industry bridge the gap between promising science and commercial scale.”
Directed by Heyne, BSEL operates in partnership with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and serves as WSU’s primary hub for SAF testing and characterization. Since 2024, the SOAR Lab within BSEL has supported emerging energy solutions by providing specialized testing methodologies and equipment to industry and academic partners.
To date, BSEL researchers have tested nearly 500 SAF candidate samples from roughly 40 institutions across North America, Europe, and Asia supporting supply-chain validation, performance evaluation and federal policy efforts. Heyne was recognized last year as the most cited and most published researcher in the field, as well as the most productive author in SAF research from 2001 to 2023. He also holds the highest connection strength among researchers in the discipline — illustrating the breadth of his collaborations — contributing to WSU’s designation as the most collaborative institution in sustainable aviation research.
“With aviation expected to grow globally, sustainable fuels offer one of the most viable pathways for decarbonization in the next several decades” Heyne said. “Our focus here is on enabling industry to meet performance, safety, and economic targets that make commercial deployment possible.”
As part of CSAA, WSU Tri-Cities is partnering with Snohomish County to establish a Sustainable Aviation Fuel Research and Development Center at Paine Field Airport. The center will house the world’s first SAF repository, where fuel samples will be collected, tested, indexed and distributed globally to support research and commercialization efforts. WSU Tri-Cities experts will play a key role in fuel testing, design of novel SAF compositions, while collaborating with government, industry and academic partners to foster innovation, workforce development and economic growth in the region.
WSU’s SAF research also contributes to ASCENT, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment, co-led by WSU and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Looking ahead
With aviation accounting for an estimated 2 to 3 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, leaders emphasized that SAF represents one of the most promising near-term strategies for reducing emissions while maintaining safety, affordability and reliability.
WSU Tri-Cities will continue to contribute its research expertise to ensure sustainable aviation fuels are developed responsibly and at scale.
