Topsoe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark) announced that it will lead the FrontFuel project, pioneering highly efficient Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production from CO2, water, and renewable electricity Topsoe will receive a 26.9 million DKK grant from the EUDP to fund the project.
The FrontFuel project is a first-of-its-kind project, and will use carbon dioxide and renewable energy to produce a synthetic crude, to demonstrate the value chain of SAF, using Topsoe technology.
The FrontFuel project will operate in close collaboration with Sasol, a global chemicals and energy company which specializes in Fischer Tropsch technology essential for SAF production, and Aarhus University, Denmark, where the production plant facility will be located.
Kim Grøn Knudsen, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Topsoe, said: “The FrontFuel project is an exciting step forward to commercialize new technologies for the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and will make a meaningful contribution to helping decarbonization of the aviation sector. By working with our expert partners and with the support of EUDP, we are confident we can accelerate the journey towards commercial production of SAF.”
Decarbonizing the aviation sector poses some challenges, particularly due to high feedstock costs, scalability and the introduction of new efficient technologies. To achieve a net-zero future in aviation, it is essential that alternative liquid drop-in fuel sources are available at scale. The FrontFuel project will provide testing of an integrated process applicable for efficient SAF production, enabling faster market penetration and accelerating the green transition. Using front-end SOEC technology with eREACT™, which is the syngas manufacturing, to feed the Sasol Fischer Tropsch technology for syncrude production, FrontFuel will deliver the best-in-class method to SAF production from CO2, water, and renewable electricity.