Driving the transition to sustainable aviation and marine transport

FUEL-UP heralds a new chapter in sustainable transportation with its ambitious initiative funded by the EU Horizon project. The primary goal is to revolutionise the aviation and marine transport sectors by converting biogenic waste into advanced biofuels, marking a crucial step in the journey towards greener practices and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

Advanced biofuels hold immense promise in curbing greenhouse gas emissions and aligning with European targets to combat climate change. Projections indicate that by 2050, they could contribute significantly, accounting for 14% of global transport fuel and a substantial 45% of global aviation fuel.

However, several hurdles must be overcome to upscale the production and utilisation of advanced biofuels. These include the intricate process of converting solid biomass feedstocks, upgrading liquid products, ensuring cost-effectiveness in production, and establishing a common EU certification for biofuels, crucial for market adoption and social acceptance.

FUEL-UP aims to surmount these challenges by introducing innovative solutions that pave the way for renewable sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and marine fuels. Central to this effort is the production of stabilised deoxygenated pyrolysis oils (SDPO) from 100% biogenic feedstock, which can then be refined into fully hydrotreated oil. At a demonstration scale, FUEL-UP seeks to validate a pathway for producing sustainable liquid biofuels from lignocellulosic streams, with substantial portions earmarked for aviation and marine use, as well as heavy naphtha.

Duncan Akporiaye, project coordinator from SINTEF, emphasised, "FUEL-UP will demonstrate at scale the complete value chain of advanced biofuel production, tackling bottlenecks and ensuring smooth operation and delivery, while connecting actions with the European research framework."