Finnish technology company Liquid Sun has launched what it claims is Europe’s first sustainable synthetic aviation fuel (eSAF) pilot plant in Espoo.
The unit – built from two large shipping containers – converts biogenic carbon dioxide and hydrogen produced with renewable electricity into synthetic crude oil, which is then refined into eSAF.
The pilot has been engineered to meet industrial-scale requirements and the first sample of eSAF crude is ready.
Driven by EU aviation regulations, demand for eSAF is set to grow rapidly although it must overcome a range of challenges including hight costs, energy requirements, project funding, policy certainty and feedstock availability.
The next step in the pilot production phase is to refine the eSAF crude into synthetic fuel and obtain the certification required under the eSAF regulatory framework.
Liquid Sun will strive to scale up production and refine the crude into aviation fuel with partners Finnair, Finavia, ABB and Fortum.
Last February, Soletair Power, a Finnish direct air capture (DAC) company, delivered a batch of CO2 extracted from ambient air to Liquid Sun.
The European Commission recently announced a €2.9bn investment for sustainable fuels by 2027.
Most of the investment (€2bn) will fall under InvestEU, with €300m coming from the European Hydrogen Bank to support hydrogen-based fuels for aviation and shipping, and €446m from the Innovation Fund for synthetic aviation fuel and maritime fuel projects.