Axens has announced the start of the ERA project, which stands for Ethanol to Refuel Aviation. The French technology company calls it the first industrial facility in France to produce sustainable aviation fuel from advanced bioethanol. The plant is scheduled to become operational in 2030.
The plant will have a planned capacity of 50.000 tonnes of SAF per year. A definitive location has not yet been determined: Axens is currently investigating several potential sites in France. The project is currently in the engineering phase and is being executed by a project company specifically established for this purpose named Safiris. According to Axens, it is working on an industrial and financial partnership structure within that company.
For the conversion of bioethanol into jet fuel, the plant uses Jetanol technology, developed by Axens together with IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN). The process consists of three steps: dehydration, oligomerization, and hydrogenation. According to Axens, this route has already been applied in various international Alcohol-to-Jet projects due to the high yields and proven technological level. The feedstock consists of advanced ethanol derived from European biomass streams falling under Annex IX-A of the RED II Directive, such as lignocellulose-containing biomass.
Supplement to existing SAF production
Current SAF production largely relies on the so-called HEFA route, in which used cooking oil and animal fats are processed. Axens points out that this raw material flow will remain limited in the long term, while demand for SAF from the aviation sector continues to grow. The ERA project aims to meet this demand, in part, by opening up a new raw material route based on biomass residue streams.
This growing demand stems from European regulations. The ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation prescribes a rising blending percentage for SAF, up to 6 percent in 2030 and up to 70 percent in 2050. For flights departing from France, more than 1 million tonnes of SAF per year will be required from 2035 to meet European obligations. France already set its own blending targets for SAF in 2020.
Part of broader industrial strategy
The ERA project does not stand alone within Axens' portfolio. In the same announcement, the company mentions the NACRE project, an advanced bioethanol plant at the Lacq site for which the building permit has already been granted, and the MACARON project, a battery materials plant in Valenciennes for which a permit application was recently submitted. Axens places ERA in the context of French and European ambitions regarding reindustrialisation and energy transition, referring to new employment opportunities, reduced dependence on imports of fossil kerosene and SAF, and a contribution to the sustainability of the aviation sector.
CEO Quentin Debuisschert calls ERA both a sovereignty project and an energy transition project, in which the agricultural sector and low-carbon chemistry converge. He expects the project to demonstrate the performance of Jetanol technology and serve as an example for similar initiatives in France, Europe, and beyond.
Source: Axens
Photo by Marios Gkortsilas on Unsplash
