PSI test plant aims to scale up synthetic aviation fuel

Swiss research is testing a synthetic aviation fuel intended to reduce aviation emissions and eventually become commercially viable, SRF reported. A new pilot plant at the Paul Scherrer Institute, a research institute in Villigen, can currently produce 50 litres of fuel a day.

The facility, called Aerobrew, was developed by the institute and Zurich-based start-up Metafuels. Its output is too small for commercial use, but it is designed to provide experience for larger-scale production.

Metafuels plans to build a factory in the port of Rotterdam. It is expected to produce 10 tonnes of sustainable fuel per day from 2030, with production later rising to 100 tonnes.

The process starts with methanol. Using sustainable electricity, the plant produces hydrogen from water. It combines this with carbon dioxide, which the company eventually aims to obtain from the atmosphere, and then converts the resulting methanol into aviation fuel.

The exact process is being kept secret because synthetic fuels are potentially a multibillion-dollar business. The developers say Aerobrew is the first facility of its kind worldwide to operate without fossil-based feedstocks.

Synthetic fuel is not expected to replace conventional kerosene in the short or medium term. Even larger planned facilities would produce only a fraction of the quantities made in the world’s large refineries.

In the longer term, it could replace at least some conventional kerosene, particularly if governments continue requiring airlines to blend in specified amounts of sustainable fuel. The European Union has set targets of 6 percent by 2030, 20 percent by 2035 and 70 percent by 2050. Switzerland is adopting the requirements, with its current blending quota at 2 percent and a gradual increase to 70 percent by 2050.

Sustainable aviation fuel currently costs four to five times more than kerosene. That creates a chicken-and-egg problem: airlines have little incentive to buy the fuel voluntarily, while investors are reluctant to finance large production plants without guaranteed demand.

Existing sustainable fuels include products made from used restaurant frying oil, but supplies are limited. The aviation industry needs far more fuel than such waste sources can provide.

According to Metafuels, the synthetic fuel could be used in existing aircraft and airports without major modifications. The company says it would significantly reduce climate-damaging emissions.

Oil companies have shown mixed reactions. National oil companies in France, Italy and Spain are already involved in facilities producing sustainable kerosene, while Shell and BP have withdrawn from parts of the sustainable energy business in recent months. The PSI project’s initiators expect other investors focused on sustainable energy and infrastructure to show interest first.