The Swedish Energy Agency announced it will grant funds to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Södra, Växjö Energi, SkyNRG, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and 2030-sekretariatet to continue research on the development of production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in the Växjö region in Småland, Sweden. Source: Timberbiz
The funding will support the consortium to continue their study on an integrated Fischer-Tropsch SAF production facility using forestry residues. The envisioned facility has the potential to be an important step forward in making aviation more sustainable.
The Swedish Energy Agency awarded the consortium a grant of 5.1 million SEK (EUR 500.000) to fund the project.
The realisation of the plant could serve as a proof of concept for many future plants. By 2026, the plant could be operational with a production volume of 16 kilo tonnes SAF annually.
To meet future demand partners will research all engineering, technical, business and sustainability angles of the project.
NGOs, the Swedish government, Södra, certification systems, academics and SkyNRG’s Sustainability Board are being involved to set the right sustainability framework for this project.
Sustainability factors considered in the study include the carbon balance and the biodiversity of the forest as well as potential displacement effects of utilising forestry residues for SAF production.
The current generation of aircraft engines require liquid fuels. These cannot switch to alternative energy sources such as hydrogen or electricity in the short term, and neither can airport infrastructure. SAF, as a ‘drop-in fuel’ is the solution to drastically reduce CO2 emissions in aviation in the short to medium term, with no modifications to infrastructure or equipment required.
SAF is not widely available yet. It has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 75% to almost 100% in its neat form, depending on the combination of technology pathway and feedstock, and as long as stringent sustainability criteria are met.
Karel Bockstael, VP Sustainability at KLM, leading and pioneering in making the operation and the aviation sector more sustainable:
Current technologies based on used cooking oils will reach their limits due to scarcity, and the development of sustainable synthetic SAF has financial and technological challenges to overcome. The technology to be deployed in Sweden is based on Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and produces jet fuel based on forestry residues. There is a lot of this residue available in Sweden and the rest of Europe, making it a promising project.
