The consortium of the Methanol-to-SAF project (M2SAF) sees five companies from the entire value chain joining forces with the aim of developing a novel process technology to facilitate the selective production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) that can be used as a drop-in fuel up to 100 per cent.
This production process should generate only minimal additional CO2 emissions and be easy to integrate into existing production plants. The starting point of the process is sustainably produced methanol from CO2 and green hydrogen.
The official certificate of funding for the M2SAF project was presented to the representatives of the M2SAF consortium by State Secretary Oliver Luksic from the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport on November 16, 2022, in Frankfurt.
As part of the overall concept of renewable fuels, the M2SAF development project is being funded to the tune of EUR 3.1 million by the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV).
The 2.5-year development project had a successful start in August 2022 with the first activities. A development platform for PtL fuels, which will demonstrate production on a semi-industrial scale and support the market ramp-up of PtL fuels, is being coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by the project lead VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH.
BMDV State Secretary Oliver Luksic said the the renowned industrial companies in the M2SAF consortium want to jointly drive innovation and technologies in order to effectively support the decarbonisation of air transport.
“The fact that the development project plans to use existing industrial facilities promises a quick realisation of the M2SAF project along with scalability of production to industrial levels. These are crucial factors in providing the best support in our transformation to net zero carbon.”
In addition to catalyst development, process development, plant integration and the design of a demo plant, the project also includes technological-economic and environmental analysis as well as related support for the certification and analysis of the new jet fuels.
SAF are a sustainable alternative to conventional kerosene and can be used as drop-in fuel without any modifications to the engines or infrastructure. Numerous technologies based on the use of sustainable biomass or on renewable energies are currently under development. European aviation fuel legislation also mandates the use of SAF (of biological and non-biological origin) by 2030. One thing all current SAF types have in common is that they are used in a blend with conventional kerosene. However, depending on the production route, the blend is usually limited.
The strong growth of the aviation industry requires solutions to mitigate the effects aviation has on the climate. SAF can play an important part in reducing CO2 emissions and the environmental impact of the aviation industry.