Two bio-SAF projects aim to make production cheaper, more efficient

Two companies have unlocked shortcuts to producing SAF from biomass and biogas, aiming to make production less expensive and more efficient. The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), in partnership with Swiss SAF producer Metafuels, on Aug. 20 inaugurated a test plant for its proprietary “aerobrew” sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which synthesizes SAF from methanol. [caption id="attachment_57299201" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] The PSI demonstration plant. (Courtesy/PSI and Markus Fischer)[/caption] Traditionally, methanol has not been used as a route to SAF, Metafuels Chief Executive Saurabh Kapoor told Cargo Facts . “The individual technologies that are commercially available today, and that licensors can combine into a production process, have two main limitations: low SAF selectivity and high CapEx, both of which push up the cost of producing the fuel,” he said. The demonstration plant at PSI runs on new technology that addresses these challenges, he added. Highly selective The new process achieves higher selectivity — a better yield-to-revenue ratio — compared to other SAF production methods, according to an Aug. 20 release. From water, the process produces hydrogen using sustainable electricity and carbon dioxide, the latter of which can be sourced from biomass such as plant waste . Then, hydrogen and carbon dioxide are processed into green methanol, which becomes sustainable kerosene using proprietary technology, according to the release. The first commercial plant utilizing the process is set to open in 2030, according to PSI. The facility, capable of producing up to ten tonnes of SAF a day, will be located at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Kapoor said. It will be majority owned by Metafuels, which has already secured a 1.92 million euro ($2.17 million) grant from the Dutch government. The final stage of development, which will be followed by a final investment decision, is slated for 2027, he added. Gassing up Meanwhile, researchers at Israel-based SAF producer NGV Earth on Aug. 15 published a paper in the research journal Fuel outlining a method for producing biogas SAF in fewer steps than previously required. Like other biogas SAF producers , NGV Earth reforms biogas into a synthetic gas containing mainly hydrogen and carbon monoxide, Chief Technology Officer Tomy Hos told Cargo Facts . NGV Earth then uses proprietary catalysts to convert the hydrogen-lean synthetic gas into liquid hydrocarbons, Hos said. The research behind the published work demonstrates the process is robust and scalable, simplifying the system and offering the potential to replace conventional gas-to-liquid technologies, the authors wrote. Conventional processes use more expensive catalysts and generally require additional CO2 separation and hydrogen enrichment steps to adjust the syngas composition. They also typically result in a wax that requires additional processing, compounding cost and complexity. NGV Earth’s catalysts help avoid these steps, resulting in a simpler process with lower energy requirements, ultimately leading to lower costs, Hos said. ’Practical feedstocks’ Engineering work on a demonstration system, which NGV Earth anticipates will produce continuously by late 2027, is underway. It will provide engineering and operating data necessary for the construction of a commercial-scale plant, Hos said. “The objective is ultimately to show that SAF production does not have to be limited to very large, centralized refineries. Distributed sources of biogas can also become practical feedstocks for producing low-carbon aviation fuel at commercial scale,” he added. Cargo Facts Symposium 2026, the premier event for the freighter aircraft and air cargo industries, will take place in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 21-23. Find out more and register here .

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