As the Energy Transition continues to progress, the airline industry remains one of the more difficult areas to decarbonize. While solar, wind, hydrogen and other non-fossil energy sources provide viable paths for terrestrial applications, aircraft typically require the high energy density associated with traditional liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Hence, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) has emerged as a foundational approach to decarbonization. SAF is not a replacement for jet fuel; it is jet fuel – produced from renewable rather than fossil sources.

SAF can be made from many different sources, including inedible fats, oils, and greases (FOGs), biomass, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), biogas, algae and even CO2 to name a few. SAF retains all the benefits of a hydrocarbon fuel and can currently be blended with conventional jet fuel at up to 50% and can be used as a drop-in solution within existing aircraft and infrastructure, so avoiding the need to align new propulsion technologies with global infrastructure developments. This drop-in solution is critical in aligning governments, airlines, aircraft manufacturers and travelers as joint stakeholders, who are sensitive to both speed of deployment and travel costs.

One of the challenges in renewable fuels, is the scarcity of feedstock at an economic price and scale. Feedstock availability can vary widely between regions, countries and even municipalities. No single technology path to SAF satisfies the global demand. A basket of technology solutions is required to enable local feedstocks to be processed in local plants, for local needs. This enables to world to decarbonize, faster. In this presentation we will be discussing eFuels – primarily through methanol-to-jet fuel (MTJ) or Fischer Tropsch pathways, the capital and operating expense stacks, and when each may be a preferred route.

Moderator:
Keith Couch, Honeywell UOP

Speakers:
Alan Gelder, Wood Mackenzie
Kevin Lindemer, S&P Global