Production pathways for renewable jet fuel - Spiral@Imperial ...

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Production pathways for renewable jet fuel: a review of commercialisation status and future prospects Rebecca Mawhood1*, Evangelos Gazis1, Sierk de Jong2, Ric Hoefnagels2, Raphael Slade1

1. Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London

2. Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University

1 Abstract Aviation is responsible for an increasing share of anthropogenic CO2 emissions.

Decarbonisation to 2050 is expected to rely on renewable jet fuel (RJF) derived from

biomass, but this represents a radical departure from the existing regime of petroleum-

based fuels. Increased market deployment will require significant cost reductions, alongside

adaptation of existing supply chains and infrastructure.

This article maps development and manufacturing efforts for six RJF production pathways

expected to reach commercialisation in the next 5-10 years. A Rapid Evidence Assessment

was conducted to evaluate the technological and commercial maturity of each pathway and

progress towards international certification, using the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels

Initiative’s Fuel Readiness Level (FRL) framework. Planned and operational facilities have

been catalogued alongside partnerships with the aviation industry. Policy and economic

factors likely to affect future development and deployment are considered.

Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (FRL 9) is the most developed pathway. It is ASTM

certified, has fuelled the majority of RJF flights to date, and is produced at three

commercial-scale facilities. Fischer-Tropsch derived fuels are moving towards the start-up of

first commercial facilities (FRL 7-8), although widespread deployment seems unlikely under

current market conditions. The Direct Sugars to Hydrocarbons conversion pathway (FRL 5-7)

is being championed by Amyris and Total in Brazil, but has yet to be demonstrated at scale.

Other pathways are in the demonstration and pilot phases (FRL 4-6).

Despite growing interest in RJF, demand and production volumes remain negligible.

Development of supportive policy is likely to be critical to future deployment.

*Corresponding author.

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2 Introduction Aviation is currently responsible for 2% of global anthropogenic carbon emissions.1

As

demand grows a rapid increase in annual emissions from 705 Mt of CO2 in 2013 to between

1,000 and 3,100 Mt by 2050 is anticipated.2 If the aviation sector is to contribute to

international policy ambitions to mitigate climate change, specific CO2 emissions per

passenger kilometre will need to be greatly reduced. Near-term options to decarbonise air

travel, however, are limited. Modern aircraft are already highly fuel-efficient, and

technological improvements tend to be incremental. Moreover, the diffusion of

improvements across the active global fleet is expected to be slow because commercial

aircraft have a service lifetime of 25 years.2 Advances in air traffic management and engine

efficiency have the potential to reduce aviation emissions by an estimated 0.8% per annum

over the period to 2050, equivalent to an aggregate reduction of around 15% from 2015,

but these reductions are expected to be insufficient to offset increases in passenger

numbers.2,3 The majority of emission reductions will therefore need to come from the

uptake of low carbon liquid fuels and particularly biofuels.

Within the aviation sector there is optimism that kerosene-like fuels produced from biomass

(hereafter referred to as renewable jet fuel (RJF)) could offer a viable means to reduce

emissions under the right policy circumstances. Recent years have witnessed increasing

activity in terms of research, development and deployment, test flights, fuel off-take

agreements and certification, with major commercial and military aircraft operators playing

a leading role.4,5 Yet to date almost all flights powered by RJF have used fuels derived from

vegetable oils and fats.6 Although production from these materials is straightforward, the

potential to scale-up RJF volumes is severely restricted by the lack of low cost and

sustainable feedstocks. Indeed, in many cases unprocessed vegetable oils are already more

costly than fossil jet fuel. The search is on, therefore, for alternative conversion pathways

and feedstocks that can offer the prospect of cost-effective and large-scale production.

Options being investigated include a diverse range of technologies with the potential to

upgrade sugars, alcohols and vegetable oils, to convert lignocellulosic feedstocks, and to

make effective use of low cost sources of biomass. Comparison of the commercialisation

status of these alternative pathways is often hindered by the absence of a common

technology terminology and a lack of transparency around competing claims by companies

seeking to promote their own proprietary technology.

The primary aim of this paper is therefore to provide an overview of the status quo in RJF

production pathways expected to be commercially available within the next 5-10 years. It

presents the results of a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) conducted to evaluate the

maturity of alternative conversion pathways using the Commercial Aviation Alternative

Fuels Initiative’s (CAAFI) Fuel Readiness Level (FRL) framework. It also provides a brief

assessment of policy and economic factors likely to affect the future development and

deployment of RJF. This analysis provides a detailed snapshot of the current status of RJF

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production options, and thus a basis to identify research needs, facilitate policy decisions

and inform investment strategies. This paper does not, however, seek to provide a detailed

review of the technical characteristics of biomass feedstocks, nor feedstock cost trends,

since these are generic across the bioenergy arena and well covered elsewhere. The reader

is referred to Chum et al. (2011) and Cazzola et al. (2013) and for discussion of these

issues.7,8

3 Methods A Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) methodology was employed to obtain a comprehensive

overview of planned and operational RJF production facilities and to identify economic and

policy factors affecting future deployment of RJF. REA is an approach to collating and

synthesising evidence that draws on best practice systematic review methods for evidence

based policy; it entails rigorous searching of the literature to tackle a well-defined research

question.9,10 Advantages of this approach include minimising bias when selecting papers; a

disadvantage is that publications may be missed if these fall outside the search criteria.

One of the most important milestones for commercial acceptance of a new fuel is technical

certification by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)†, a mandatory

prerequisite for the fuel to be used in commercial aviation. The certification process has to

date taken between one and six years. Given this study’s focus on pathways expected to be

commercially available in the short term, the REA’s scope was limited to pathways which

have already been certified by the ASTM or which have a formal ASTM task force working

towards certification. Twelve such task forces exist, representing six families of conversion

technologies‡: hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) (which is considered to include

the catalytic hydrothermolysis (CT) and co-processing task forces for the purpose of this

report), Fischer-Tropsch (FT), direct sugars to hydrocarbons (DSHC), hydrotreated

depolymerised cellulosic jet (HDCJ), alcohol to jet (ATJ), and aqueous phase reforming

(APR).4,11 Figure 1 summarises the feedstocks and key processes for each of these. A number

of other RJF pathways exist but have been excluded since the ASTM task forces around

these have not yet been formed. The lignin to jet conversion pathway being developed by

the Italian company BioChemtex is one such example.12

† The ASTM International standard ASTM D7566 (established 2009) specifies technical requirements for synthetic jet fuels, including biofuels and blends with petroleum kerosene.160 Fuels meeting the standard are considered to be equivalent to conventional jet fuel and can be mixed in aircraft and supply infrastructure without the need for separate tracking or approval. A further standard, ASTM D4054, provides guidance on the testing requirements and property targets necessary for the evaluation of a candidate synthetic jet fuel. ‡ Task forces have been clustered with regards to process design, feedstock and product output. For this analysis no explicit distinction was made between synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) and synthetic kerosene with aromatic (SKA) task forces.

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Figure 1 RJF conversion pathways: feedstocks and processes.

Data regarding the commercialisation status of these pathways were collected from

academic, grey and industry literature. The Primo Central Index and Google Scholar were

interrogated for English language reports published between 2009 and 2014 using the

search terms: alternative fuels OR biofuels AND aviation. Key industry reports

recommended by the RENJET consortium members were also included, and the

bibliographies of relevant articles were reviewed for related citations. Publications were

excluded if: i) they did not specifically consider aviation fuels; ii) they considered the

development of only one aspect of the conversion processes; iii) they solely focussed on the

combustion characteristics of these fuels. This search strategy identified 18,396 titles, of

which 175 were deemed to fit the inclusion criteria. It also revealed the paucity of peer-

reviewed literature addressing the commercialisation activities of RJF developers, with only

32 such studies being identified. The lack of existing academic literature can be explained in

part by the commercial sensitivity of the topic of study: private companies are the leading

players promoting commercial-scale application of RJF production, typically using

proprietary technologies, and public reporting is accordingly minimal in many cases. The

findings presented in the current paper are therefore largely reliant on grey literature and

the aviation industry reports that were deemed to be of higher quality. Additional searches,

including media reports, were conducted to verify the current status of the biofuel

developers and facilities.

The data gathered were used to assess the commercialisation status of the conversion

pathways in accordance with the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative’s (CAAFI)

Fuel Readiness Level (FRL) methodology. The FRL approach is based on NASA’s ‘Technology

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Readiness Level’ (TRL) framework and is intended to provide a descriptive hierarchy

indicating the progress of a technology towards commercialisation via a series of “toll gates”

(Table 1).13,14 Unlike the TRL framework, the FRL method is specifically designed to reflect

the range of risks affecting the development of fuels (as opposed to equipment), in

particular a fuel’s chemistry and compatibility with fuelling infrastructure and aircraft.14,15

The FRL was preferred over the TRL since it is accepted as the best-practice communication

tool of fuel technology maturity within the aviation industry.14,15

Cost data were excluded from the review as very few cost estimates available in the

literature provide sufficient detail to allow comparison of alternative RJF pathways on an

equal footing. The reader is referred to De Jong et al. (2015) for an analysis of RJF

production costs.16

4 Results

Hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA): FRL 6-8

Hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) technology combines hydrotreatment and

isomerisation to convert triglycerides to (iso)paraffinic hydrocarbons in the jet range. Efforts

are also underway to develop RJF using blends with HEFA-diesel.§

HEFA-jet is the most highly developed and widely utilised RJF technology at the time of

writing, with several commercial facilities operational and under development (Table 2). It

was ASTM certified in 2011 for use in blends of up to 50% with fossil jet fuel, and has fuelled

the majority of RJF demonstration flights (since 2008).4,6,17 It has also been used in

commercial flights since 2011.6 Most of these have used fuel derived from vegetable oils,

used cooking oil (UCO) and animal fats, although oil from non-edible crops such as jatropha,

camelina and algae-derived oils have also been used.

The most widely deployed HEFA technologies are those developed by Honeywell UOP/Eni

(EcofiningTM and the UOP Renewable Jet ProcessTM) and Neste (NexBTL) (Table 2), all of

which are deployed commercially. The processes differ in both process design and the

flexibility to alter the RJF/diesel ratio in the product slate.16 UOP’s Renewable Jet process

includes selective cracking alongside isomerization and hydrotreatment, thereby maximizing

RJF output, but also producing more light components.16,18 Both UOP processes were

designed such that they can be used to repurpose existing refineries and target the

production of RJF19,20 In contrast, Neste’s current facilities have been optimised for diesel

production; it is technically possible to produce RJF, but it requires significant adjustment to

the process conditions.

§ Jet and diesel fuel produced via HEFA are commonly referred to as hydrotreated renewable jet (HRJ) and hydrotreated renewable diesel (HRD). To avoid confusion they are simply called HEFA-jet and HEFA-diesel for the purpose of this paper.

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The UOP technologies are being used by Eni and Altair Fuels to repurpose two mothballed

refineries to decrease capital investments; according to Eni this strategy has led to a capital

expenditure of 100M€ compared to 600 M€ for a greenfield project.19 The two biorefineries

are respectively located in Venice, Italy (operational since 2014, with plans to produce RJF

alongside the primary diesel product) and Paramount, USA (under construction, expected to

be the world’s first continuous RJF production facility).19,21–23 Six additional facilities

targeting commercial RJF production using the UOP processes are being developed by Altair

Fuels, Petrixo and SG Preston, with planned start-dates from 2016 to 2020.24–26 Neste has

three operational commercial refineries which can be configured to produce batches of

HEFA-jet.27 Other active HEFA-jet developers include Sinopec and Pertamina.28,29

Several fuel testing, flight demonstration and fuel offtake partnerships exist between

producers and the aviation sector. RJF produced via EcofiningTM has been used by 16

aviation operators for commercial flights, as well as test and demonstration flights by the US

and Dutch militaries.23 Notably, it was used by GOL for 200 scheduled flights during the 2014

FIFA World Cup and by Aeroméxico for 52 flights between Mexico City & Costa Rica in

2011.23 AltAir Fuels has an offtake agreement for 15 million gallons of EcofiningTM RJF to fuel

United Airlines’ flights from Los Angeles International Airport over 2014-2017.24 Neste’s RJF

was used by Lufthansa for 1,187 scheduled domestic flights (Hamburg-Frankfurt) in 2011,

and one scheduled transatlantic flight (Frankfurt-Washington DC) in 2012.27 Neste plans to

produce 1.4 million litres of RJF over 2015-2016 for the EU ITAKA project,30 some of which is

being mixed with conventional jet fuel at fuel in Oslo Airport’s hydrant supply system; this is

the first non-segregated airport supply of RJF in the world.31 The company also supplies RJF

to the Finnish Air Force, and is working with KLM and Schiphol Airport (amongst others) to

scale-up RJF production at its Rotterdam facility.27,30,32 Hainan Airlines and Boeing partnered

with Sinopec for China’s first commercial RJF flight in late 2015.28

Most existing HEFA capacity, however, is optimised to produce diesel for use in road

transport (HEFA-diesel). Jet requires tuning of the process conditions and selective

hydrocracking to increase the yield of light components at the expense of the overall

distillate yield.18 The reconfiguration of some diesel capacity for commercial RJF production

is expected under existing collaborations with the aviation sector. Boeing has been exploring

the potential to blend HEFA-diesel in low concentrations with fossil jet since 2014. The

company successfully conducted the first test flight with a 15% HEFA-diesel blend supplied

by Neste in 2015, and anticipates that ASTM certification will be achieved in 2016.33 Boeing

claims that RJF produced using HEFA-diesel blends could be cheaper than HEFA-jet due to

increased economies of scale and diversity of supply locations,34 with the potential to unlock

sufficient refining capacity to provide 1% of global jet fuel uptake.33

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An additional complication is the availability of triglyceride feedstocks. World supply of

major vegetable oils is expected to exceed 178 million tonnes in 2015/16, 35 but the aviation

industry is reluctant to pursue large-scale conversion of these to RJF, due to perceived

competition with food production and concerns about environmentally-unsustainable

plantations.36 Many producers are instead to looking to waste oils to mitigate these

concerns in the short-term. The most widely used waste oil for RJF flights to date is used

cooking oil (UCO),17 however supplies are much smaller than the potential vegetable oil

resource. Regional estimates for the collectable volume include 542,000 t/yr in the USA (of

which 50% is used for biodiesel), 3 million t/yr in China, 646,800 t/yr in Indonesia and

22,099 t/yr in Argentina.37 In the EU-27 it is estimated that 972,000 t/yr could be collected

from commercial kitchens, but 90% of this is already utilised for biodiesel production - and

the 2015 amendment (EU)/2015/1513 to the EU Renewable Energy Directive is expected to

increase demand for road transport fuels further.37 **

HEFA technology is mature and already deployed at commercial scale (FRL 9). Use of HEFA-

diesel for aviation is novel, but certification and redirection of road transport streams could

rapidly push it to FRL 9. Despite this advanced status, however, HEFA technology should not

be considered a silver bullet for aviation as market penetration is capped by limited

availability and the high price of sustainable feedstock. In the current market environment it

may also be difficult for aviation to secure large-scale HEFA-diesel production capacity given

the existence of incentives for road transport biodiesel and the comparatively low price of

kerosene.

4.1.1 Co-processing and catalytic hydrothermolysis (CH) – FRL 6

Co-processing and catalytic hydrothermolysis technologies are also being explored as

potential production pathways for RJF from triglycerides, with each being promoted by an

ASTM task force. The co-processing ASTM task force, led by BP, Chevron and Phillips 66, is

investigating the feasibility of co-processing vegetable oil alongside middle distillates in

existing refineries.38 This approach leverages existing hydrotreating and hydrocracking

capacity and thus reduces the capital investment.39 The catalytic hydrothermolysis

pathway, developed jointly by ARA and Blue Sun Energy, uses water to reduce hydrogen

consumption and produces aromatic, cycloparaffinic, and isoparaffinic hydrocarbons.40 The

resulting product is suitable for use as a 100% drop-in fuel. ARA and Blue Sun Energy have

been contracted to produce RJF for US Navy, with deliveries due in 2015 and 2016.41

** The amendment retains the requirement for 10% of Member States’ transport energy consumption to come from renewable technologies by 2020, but caps the proportion that can be produced from food-based energy crops at 7% - whilst allowing fuels produced from UCO (amongst other feedstocks) to be double-counted towards the blending target.161

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Both co-processing and catalytic hydrothermolysis are yet to be commercialized and ASTM

certified. As such they have been categorised as FRL 6.

Fischer-Tropsch (FT) – FRL 7-8

Fischer-Tropsch (FT) pathways combine biomass gasification (or co-gasification with coal)

with Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and catalytic cracking to produce synthetic paraffinic

kerosene (SPK). SPK is a high quality liquid fuel that can substitute directly for conventional

kerosene jet fuel.

Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis has been applied to coal and natural gas feedstocks in

industry for several decades. It is fully commercial although research and development is

still ongoing to improve catalyst performance. Coal-derived FT jet fuel has been used in

blends of up to 50% with conventional jet fuel for commercial flights since 1999, and as a

neat (pure/unblended) fuel since 2010, with no significant technical problems reported.42,43

Natural gas-derived FT jet fuel has been commercially produced since 2012 and is routinely

used in blends of up to 25% by Shell.42 Application of the process to biomass, however, is

considered to require considerable further development, particularly regarding the handling

of biomass feedstocks and syngas cleaning.42,44 Moreover, this capital-intensive process is

only cost effective at large scale, putting pressure on feedstock logistics and increasing

investment risk. The production of small amounts of biomass-SPK in test facilities has

enabled this fuel to be ASTM certified for commercial use (in blends of up to 50% with

petroleum jet fuel) since September 2009,4 but production volumes remain low and only a

handful of demonstration flights have been completed.

In the 2000s it was widely anticipated that FT would develop rapidly, but progress has been

slower than expected.13 Operations have ceased at pilot plants previously operated by the

companies CHOREN and NSE Biofuels, Forest BtL has frozen plans for a demonstration plant,

and the Solena/British Airways GreenSky project – targeting 50,000 tonnes/year of RJF - has

been cancelled.42,45–47 Despite these setbacks a small number of demonstration and

commercial facilities are being developed, with projected completion dates ranging from

2017 to 2020.

The largest, BioTfueL, aims to produce 200,000 tonnes of RJF and diesel per annum from co-

gasified biomass, crude oil and coal.48 Fulcrum Bioenergy and Red Rock Biofuels are

targeting 10-12 million litres of fuel per year, respectively from municipal solid waste, and

forestry and sawmill residues.49,50 Fulcrum Bioenergy has secured an offtake agreement

with Cathay Pacific Airways for five production plants, and a US $30 million investment from

United Airlines.51,52 Red Rock has supply agreements with Southwest Airlines and FedEx

Express.53

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On the FRL scale the FT pathway can be categorised as FRL 7 (corresponding with ASTM

certification) with evidence of progress towards FRL 8. Whether further progress to FRL 9

will occur, however, is difficult to judge. The quality of the fuel is not in question but the

difficulty of constructing operational production plant remains a challenge. The existence of

collaborations with airlines for demonstration projects is a positive indication that these

companies have faith in the technology. But a history or false starts and abandoned flagship

projects suggests that caution is required. Most recently, the subsidiary of the Solena Group

with which British Airways held a contract filed for bankruptcy in November 2015. The

remainder of the Solena group remains committed to waste to biofuels projects, but activity

in the aviation biofuels space remains uncertain.47

Direct sugars to hydrocarbons (DSHC) – FRL 5-7

The direct sugars to hydrocarbons (DSHC) pathway describes technologies that produce

alkane-type fuels from sugars via anaerobic fermentation, without an alcohol intermediate.

This technology has the potential to use sugars derived from lignocellulosic biomass as

feedstock, but most current research is focussed on simple hexose sugars derived from

sugarcane, sweet sorghum, and maize, which are easier to ferment.54–57

DSHC development is being led by a joint venture between the companies Amyris and Total

(Table 4). Their proprietary Biofene® technology uses sugarcane-derived glucose to produce

the isoprenoid farnesene. This can then be used as the basis for a range of petroleum

replacement products. The first commercial plant in Brota, Brazil, has been operational

since December 2012 and has the capacity to produce up to 50 million litres of farnesene

per annum.42,48 Looking forwards, Amyris has identified the potential for significant

production cost reductions if a yeast strain capable of fermenting C5 sugars alongside C6

sugars can be developed.58 The company is working with the US National Advanced Biofuels

Consortium to extend its fermentation process to use complex lignocellulosic sugar

streams.59 It is anticipated that Amyris will transition from sugar crops to cellulosic wastes

and residues once this process becomes economically viable.60

Biofene® jet fuel has been certified for blends of up to 10% with petroleum-derived jet since

June 2014 (Annex A3 of ASTM D7566).61 Air France committed to use a 10% blend of the

fuel for a weekly scheduled flight between Paris and Toulouse between October 2014 and

September 2015.62,63 Amyris also has a memorandum of understanding to develop

renewable jet fuel with the airline GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, which has aimed to use

up to 10% RJF blends in its Boeing 737 fleet since July 2014.64,65

The company LS9 has had an operational DSHC pilot plant since 2008 and was formerly

targeting the production of RJF. However since being bought out by REG Life Sciences in

2014 its focus has shifted from biofuels to biochemicals.66,67 Similarly, Amyris is currently

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focusing on cosmetics, flavours , fragrances and performance materials rather than biofuels,

as their product generates more value in these market segments.68

Amyris’ Biofene® jet fuel is considered to have a FRL of 7 moving towards 8. It has achieved

ASTM certification, a fuel purchase memorandum of understanding has been signed with an

airline, and a first commercial plant capable of producing jet fuel is operational. The

publically available literature on DSHC fuels produced by other companies is insufficient to

assess their FRLs, but since none are pursuing ASTM certification FRL 5 is assumed as a

maximum.

Alcohol to jet (ATJ) – FRL 4-6

The alcohol to jet (ATJ) pathway covers a wide range of technologies producing jet fuel from

biomass via alcohol intermediates. The alcohols are converted to hydrocarbon fuel via a

process of dehydration, oligomerisation and hydrogenation. The individual technical

processes employed in the ATJ pathway are considered to be mature, being widely used in

commercial petrochemical applications.69 However complete feedstock-to-fuel process

chains for ATJ are at the pilot and demonstration stages of development. In general, the

technologies to synthesise alcohol intermediates are better developed than those to

convert the intermediates to jet fuel. The most advanced RJF ATJ research efforts are

targeting ethanol and butanol as intermediates.69–71

4.4.1 Alcohol synthesis

Bioethanol derived from sugar and starch is a fully mature technology that serves a large

commodity market: some 93 billion litres of bioethanol were produced globally in 2014.69,72

Conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol, however, is still in the process of becoming

established. Commercial-scale facilities are operational in the Europe, Brazil and the USA.

with the largest, POET’s ‘Project Liberty’ (commissioned 2014) targeting production of 25

million gallons per annum.73 Abengoa’s Hugoton facility had the same nameplate capacity as

Project Liberty, but was closed in late 2015, one year after being opened.74 Beta

Renewable’s Crescentino facility (the world’s first commercial-scale plant, opened 2013) is

operating without reported faults.75,76

Commercial production of biobutanol by the ‘acetone-butanol-ethanol’ (ABE) fermentation

process was widespread until the 1950s, when it was replaced by a cheaper process using

petroleum feedstocks.77 Interest in biobutanol has re-emerged in recent years due in part to

the superiority of its fuel characteristics compared with ethanol.69 Around eleven ABE

facilities were operational in China in 200978 and several companies are developing

alternative production methods, including retrofit solutions for existing ethanol facilities.13

The companies Butamax and Gevo have operational demonstration plants producing

butanol and isobutanol from sugar and starch feedstocks.79,80 Cobalt Technologies had been

planning to retrofit lignocellulosic butanol facilities at an ethanol refinery in Michigan and a

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sugar mill in Brazil, but went into administration in 2015.81,82 Efforts to scale-up biobutanol

over the last five years have also been slower than industry expectations in the mid-2000s.13

Lignocellulosic butanol is expected to progress slowly until technologies for first-generation

butanol and lignocellulosic ethanol become more advanced.

Direct conversion of syngas (from lignocellulosic biomass or industrial gases) to alcohols is at

the demonstration stage of development.13,69 Three companies – LanzaTech, INEOS Bio and

Enerkem – have operational demonstration plants respectively producing alcohols from

steel mill waste gases, mixed organic materials and municipal solid waste (MSW).83–85 The

LanzaTech and INEOS Bio plants employ fermentation processes, whilst Enerkem produces

alcohols via catalytic synthesis.84,86,87 INEOS Bio’s plant is reported to have encountered

considerable teething problems, with production volumes falling far short of

expectations.88,89 Nevertheless, LanzaTech and Enerkem are developing plans for

commercial-scale facilities.74,88,90

4.4.2 Conversion to jet fuel

A key strength of the ATJ pathway is its flexibility to process alcohols synthesised by a wide

range of methods and from diverse feedstocks. Partnerships targeting the production of jet

fuel exist between companies that produce alcohols and those that convert alcohols to fuels

(Table 5), notably BioChemtex/Gevo, LanzaTech/Swedish Biofuels and, formerly, Cobalt

Technologies/Albemarle Corporation/NREL.91–93 In most cases, the jet fuel conversion

processes are at the laboratory and pilot stages of development. LanzaTech and Swedish

Biofuels are also evaluating possible locations for a demonstration plant capable of

producing 57 million litres of synthetic jet fuel per annum from industrial waste gases –

although not a biofuel this plant could produce enough to fuel Virgin’s Shanghai-London

route.94,95

Partnerships also exist between fuel developers and aviation operators (Table 5). LanzaTech

and Swedish Biofuels have fuel development agreements with Virgin Atlantic, the US

Ministry of Defence and the Swedish Defence Material Administration.93 Gevo is being

supported by Lufthansa and the US Air Force for fuel tests, while Alaska Airlines intends to

use 1,000 gallons of Gevo’s RJF for a demonstration flight in 2016.96–98 Byogy Renewables

and Avianca Brazil are working in partnership to accelerate ASTM approval of Byogy’s ATJ

fuel, which is hoped to be suitable as a 100% replacement for petroleum kerosene.99

ATJ synthetic paraffinic kerosene produced from starch and sugar feedstocks is currently

undergoing ASTM evaluation.4,100 Certification is expected during 2016, although opinion is

divided as to whether the fuel will be certified for use as a blended (<50%) or neat drop-in

fuel.55,69,101 A second fuel, synthetic kerosene with aromatics (again produced from starch

and sugar feedstocks), is expected to take longer to achieve certification, but may be

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suitable for use in blends of up to 100%.55 The RJF developed by Cobalt Technologies had

passed the early stages of the US Navy’s fuel certification scheme.101

Overall ATJ approaches are considered to have FRLs ranging from 4 to 6. The lower end of

this represents fuels which are still undergoing laboratory-scale technical evaluation (e.g.

Zeachem), whilst the upper end corresponds to those which are being scaled-up to

demonstration stage and tested for certification purposes (e.g. Gevo, Swedish Biofuels).

Hydrotreated depolymerised cellulosic jet (HDCJ) – FRL 6

The hydrotreated depolymerised cellulosic jet (HDCJ) pathway represents a diverse range of

fuel conversion technologies including conversion routes based on pyrolysis, hydrothermal

liquefaction and hybrid processes. For liquefaction-based HDCJ, wet lignocellulosic biomass

is converted to a bio-oil with a low oxygen content, whilst for pyrolysis-based HDCJ, dry

lignocellulosic biomass is converted to a bio-oil with a high oxygen content. In both cases

this conversion is achieved via hydrothermal catalysis and the bio-oil is subsequently

upgraded using hydrogen.

Biomass pyrolysis has been deployed at pilot scale since the 1970s and at demonstration

scale since the 1990s, but interest in upgrading the bio-oils generated for transport fuel only

developed in the late 1990s.102–104 Considerable R&D efforts are underway to lower the cost

of the upgrading processes, both through improvements to hydrodeoxygenation methods

and the development of novel upgrading techniques.103–109 These new approaches are

mostly in the laboratory or pilot stages of development.

Recent years have seen the closure of several biomass fast pyrolysis pilot plants across

Europe and the cancellation of proposed projects due to weak market conditions.103,110

Organisations with operational pilot plants include Air Liquide, Metso and the Biomass

Technology Group (BTG).111–113 Both the Air Liquide and Metso plants are producing bio-oil

for use as a gasification feedstock, whilst the BTG plants are not aiming to produce

upgraded products at present. None of these companies are currently targeting jet fuel.

The company Licella is the leading the development of HDCJ RJF (Table 6). It has one pilot

and two demonstration-scale facilities operating its proprietary ‘catalytic hydrothermal

reactor’ (Cat-HTR) technology, and is developing plans for a commercial scale

facility.106,114,115 The fuel is undergoing testing against ASTM specifications.116 Licella has

memoranda of understanding to develop aviation fuels with Virgin Australia and Air New

Zealand, and Renewable Oil Corporation has a memorandum with Virgin Australia.114,117

Envergent Technologies, a joint venture between Honeywell UOP and Ensyn, has partnered

with Chevron to evaluate the production of transportation fuels by co-processing

Envergent’s bio-oil in existing refineries.118 KiOR (catalytic fast pyrolysis/fluid catalytic

cracking) was playing an important role until recently, operating a pilot plant and having

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advanced its RJF to ASTM assessment, however the company was declared bankrupt in early

2015.119

Licella’s Cat-HTR RJF can be categorized as at FRL 6: it has been scaled from laboratory to

pilot stages, a demonstration plant is being developed, and ASTM testing is underway. The

publically available literature on HDCJ fuels being developed by other companies is

insufficient to assess their FRLs.

Aqueous phase reforming (APR) – FRL 6

Aqueous phase reforming (APR) is a catalytic process that converts soluble plant sugars into

a mixture of water, hydrogen and chemical intermediates (such as alcohols, ketones, acids,

furans, paraffins and other oxygenated hydrocarbons). These can in turn be converted to

fuels and high value chemicals.104,120,121

APR technologies to produce biofuels in general are considered to be at the R&D and pilot

stages of development.13,69 Virent is the sole organisation identified that has reached an

advanced stage of jet fuel development. The company has two demonstration facilities

(Table 7) with a combined annual production capacity of almost 60,000 litres of fuels and

chemicals.101,122 Its fuel is being tested against ASTM specifications.122

Virent’s APR fuel is considered to be at FRL level 6 since demonstration facilities have been

established and ASTM testing is underway.

5 Discussion and conclusions

FRL assessment

It is clear from the Fuel Readiness Level assessment that RJF technologies pursuing

international certification vary considerably in terms of their technological maturity and

development status (Figure 2). Three pathways have already been certified by the ASTM:

HEFA-jet, FT and DHSC. Of these the most highly developed is HEFA, which can be split

between two major RJF fuel products: HEFA-jet and HEFA-diesel. HEFA-jet is ASTM certified,

and has fuelled the majority of test and demonstration RJF flights conducted to date. It is

produced on a batch-basis by several commercial-scale facilities worldwide, and the first

commercial facility for continuous production is expected to become operational in 2016

(FRL 9). HEFA-diesel is currently undergoing ASTM evaluation for aviation (FRL 6), but

globally there are already numerous facilities producing HEFA-diesel for road transport on a

commercial basis. FT is moving towards early deployment of first commercial facilities (FRL

7-8), although widespread commercialisation seems unlikely in the current market

environment. DHSC (FRL 5-7) from sugarcane is being championed by Amyris and Total in

Brazil. Other fuel conversion pathways are in the demonstration and pilot phases (4-6), with

some being pursued by only one or two developers and thus more vulnerable to individual

companies experiencing difficulties.

14

Figure 2 Current fuel readiness levels of RJF conversion technologies.

The CAAFI FRL scale is valuable as a standardised measure for comparing and

communicating the current status of aviation fuels produced by alternative technologies.123

However it has some clear limitations: completion of the penultimate level (FRL 8 –

corresponding to certification) may be achieved without large volumes of fuel being

produced; the final level may be achieved with the operation of only one commercial-scale

plant; and no consideration is given to potential integration with existing fuel supply chains.

The FRL measure therefore provides a better indication of the quality of an aviation fuel

than it does an assessment of whether commercial production is viable or ongoing.

The scale also provides only limited insight regarding the potential rate of progress for RJFs

along the FRL scale. Arup URS and E4Tech13 have observed that biofuels in general have

taken between three and five years to progress by one technology readiness level whilst

R&D is ongoing. But progress for an individual technology will depend on the level of

investment and effort, not simply elapsed time. Three pathways (FT, HEFA, DSHC) have

achieved ASTM certification (FRL 7), taking between one to three years to complete the

process; others (ATJ, HDCJ, APR) have been working towards this for up to five years at the

time of writing.14,100 Commercial deployment (FRLs 8-9 and beyond) is heavily dependent on

the ease of securing investment, itself determined by market demand, the policy

environment, technology risk (partially measured by the FRL) and economic outlook. This is

exemplified by the contrast in uptake of the HEFA and FT pathways. Whilst FT-RJF from

lignocellulosic feedstocks completed ASTM certification (FRL 8) in 2009, it has yet to be

15

demonstrated commercially. HEFA-jet was not certified until 2011 but has overtaken FT-RJF

with several commercial facilities currently in operation (FRL 9).

Factors affecting future RJF deployment

The majority of RJF produced to date has been from vegetable oil feedstocks (HEFA

conversion pathway). Lignocellulosic feedstocks, however, are considered to have greater

potential for production of sustainable and financially competitive RJF in regions such as the

EU. Here developers are focussing on low-cost residues and waste streams. The

compositional complexity and variability of these resources, however, remains a significant

challenge, and robust and reliable waste-to-fuel conversion technologies have yet to be

demonstrated at scale. Bulky feedstocks are also expensive to collect and transport, limiting

the size (and potential scale economies) of centralised conversion facilities. Competition

within the waste management sector can also make it difficult to acquire these resources.

Despite the demonstrable (and growing) interest in RJF, both demand and production

volumes remain negligible compared to conventional fossil jet fuel. Production facilities

involve significant capital investment, with cost estimates for commercial-scale plants

starting in the region of US $100 million.16,124 Estimated levelised costs are typically more

than twice the selling-price of conventional petroleum kerosene, and in some cases (notably

for vegetable oils), the price of the raw feedstock is already greater than that of the

kerosene produced.16,124 The extent to which novel conversion technologies and

decentralised processing strategies can drive down costs remains to be seen, but the

economics of RJF production are likely to remain challenging. An additional deterrent is the

comparatively high market value of alternative bioproducts such as gasoline, diesel and

chemicals – with which RJF must compete for production capacity. Further, ASTM

certification itself requires investments to cover the expenses of lab, engine and aircraft

testing, as well as the production of significant amounts of test fuel. Whilst initial product

testing might require as little as 0.5 litre, extensive engine testing towards the end of the

certification process can require up to 650 tonnes (225,00 US gallons) of fuel.125 Ongoing

research†† for the RENJET project highlights the difficulties this fuel requirement presents

for RJF developers.126 The need to secure investment for production scale-up and to

achieve ASTM certification in parallel creates a ‘Catch 22’ situation: certification is required

to assure investors of the value of larger-scale production facilities, but scaled production is

also necessary to conduct ASTM certification tests.126

These issues are exacerbated by the uneven renewable energy policy landscape in regions

such as the USA and the EU, with only limited support being available to aviation biofuels.

Aviation stakeholders perceive the lack of international market-pull policy to hinder the

establishment of stable market demand, in turn discouraging investors and preventing RJF

†† The study combines empirical evidence from stakeholder interviews with innovation systems approaches.126

16

developers from scaling-up RJF production.126 Furthermore, it is not currently possible to

incentivise the consumption of RJF through tax derogations since petroleum jet fuel is not

taxed – unlike road transport fuels. There are numerous examples of partnerships between

biofuel developers and airlines, with over twenty commercial, demonstration and pilot

facilities to produce RJF are operational or under development worldwide. Given the high

cost of both RJF production (compared to petroleum kerosene) and ASTM certification, it is

unlikely that the industry will bear the risks of developing new fuels for commercial aviation

or large-scale RJF facilities independently. Development of a supportive policy environment

is likely to be critical to the successful development and deployment of RJF

technologies.42,126–129

6 Acknowledgements This research has been conducted as a first-stage assessment of opportunities to develop

sustainable European RJF supply chains in the context of the Fuel Supply Chain Development

and Flight Operations (RENJET) project‡‡, funded by the EIT Climate-KIC. The project aims to

lay the basis for a self-sustaining network of regional renewable jet fuel supply chains based

on sustainable European feedstock sources.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the RENJET consortium members: Imperial

College London, University of Utrecht, SkyNRG, KLM and Schiphol Airport.

7 Bibiographies

Rebecca Mawhood

Becky Mawhood is a Research Associate at the Centre for

Environmental Policy, Imperial College London. Her research

focuses on bioenergy system transitions, with case studies on

aviation biofuels and energy crops. She is also involved with

projects looking at rural energy services in Sub-Saharan

Africa. Becky has an MSc in Environmental Technology from

Imperial College London.

‡‡ http://www.climate-kic.org/projects/renewable-jet-fuel-supply-chain-development-and-flight-operations/

http://www.climate-kic.org/projects/renewable-jet-fuel-supply-chain-development-and-flight-operations/

17

Evangelos Gazis

Dr Evangelos Gazis is a researcher at the Centre for

Environmental Policy, Imperial College London. He is an

electrical engineer with a background on socio-economic

analysis and life-cycle assessment of sustainable energy

technologies. His current research focuses on innovation

dynamics within the aviation biofuels sector

Sierk de Jong

Sierk de Jong is a Junior Researcher assigned to the RENJET

project at the Copernicus Institute (Utrecht University) and a

Business Analyst at SkyNRG. His research focuses on

assessing the current and future techno-economic and

environmental performance of biojet fuel supply chains. He

holds an MSc from Utrecht University in Energy Science.

Ric Hoefnagels

Dr Ric Hoefnagels is a researcher at the Copernicus Institute,

Utrecht University. He is involved in many projects related to

bioenergy, biomass trade and logistics. Furthermore, he has

experience with greenhouse gas balances of biofuels,

technological learning and CO2 capture and storage.

Raphael Slade

Dr Raphael Slade is Lecturer in Environmental Sustainability

at Imperial College London. His research focusses on the

techno-economic evaluation of low carbon energy systems,

resource availability and bioenergy.

18

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24

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121. Tompsett GA, Li N and Huber GW, Catalytic Conversion of Sugars to Fuels. [Online]. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119990840.ch8Thermochemical Processing of Biomass [Internet] John Wiley & Sons, Ltd p. 232–279(2011).

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Commercialization of Aviation Biofuels in Europe. Int J Sustain Transp 9(8):542–550 (2015).

129. IATA, . 1st ed., Sustainable Aviation Fuel Roadmap. International Air Transport Association, Montreal, Canada & Geneva, Switzerland (2015).

130. ARA, ARA and Blue Sun Partner to Commercialize 100% Drop-in Renewable Jet and Diesel Fuel. (2013).

131. Sherbacow B, Paramount, CA GreenJet Refinery. [Online]. Available at: http://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Airport/Sustainability/20150126_AltAir_Presentation.pdf (2015).

26

132. Biofuels Digest, UOP’s Ecofining tech linked to massive renewable diesel project in Ohio. (2014).

133. Clark D, Fossil fuel subsidies: a tour of the data. [Online]. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/datablog/2012/jan/18/fossil-fuel-subsidyEnviron Energy | Guard [Internet] Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (Journal Article) (2012).

134. Sinopec, SINOPEC Bio-jet Fuel Technology. (2012). 135. Sinopec, 2013 Corporate social responsibility report. (2014). 136. Viguie J, Ullrich N, Porot P, Bournay L, Hecquet M and Rousseau J, BioTfueL Project:

Targeting the Development of Second-Generation Biodiesel and Biojet Fuels. Oil Gas Sci Technol 68(5):935–946 (2013).

137. Culverwell W, Lakeview’s $200M biofuel project gets a public airing, 24 February 2015. [Online]. Available at: http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/sbo/2015/02/lakeviews-200m-biofuel-project-gets-a-public.htmlPortland Business Journal. (2015) [May 28 2015].

138. Southwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines Announces Purchase Agreement With Red Rock Biofuels, 24 September 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www.swamedia.com/releases/southwest-airlines-announces-purchase-agreement-with-red-rock-biofuels?l=en-US(2014) [May 28 2015].

139. Biofuels Digest, That was then, this is now: 10 Signature biofuels projects for 2015-16, and where they are, 18 October 2015. [Online]. Available at: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/10/18/that-was-then-this-is-now-10-signature-biofuels-projects-for-2015-16-and-where-they-are/(2015) [December 17 2015].

140. Amyris, Amyris Ships First Truckload of Biofene From Its New Plant in Brazil, 1 February 2013. [Online]. Available at: https://amyris.com/amyris-ships-first-truckload-of-biofene-from-its-new-plant-in-brazil/(2013) [May 28 2015].

141. Amyris, Amyris Secures Additional Financing and Announces Start of Biofene® Production at Its Paraiso Facility in Brazil - 27 December 2012. [Online]. Available at: https://amyris.com/amyris-secures-additional-financing-and-announces-start-of-biofene-production-at-its-paraiso-facility-in-brazil/(2012) [May 28 2015].

142. ICAO, Climate Change : Alternative Fuels. [Online]. Available at: http://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/Pages/alternative-fuels.aspx(2015) [May 28 2015].

143. GreenAir Online, Brazil’s Avianca to back Byogy’s alcohol conversion technology as a future source of renewable jet fuel, 14 October 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.greenaironline.com/news.php?viewStory=1767(2013) [May 28 2015].

144. Byogy Renewables, Executive Summary, April 2013. (2013). 145. Werner D, Fly clean now with biofuels. Aerospace America (October) (2014). 146. Lane I, Gevo announces shrinking net loss for Q4 2014, 30 March 2015. [Online].

Available at: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/03/30/gevo-announces-shrinking-net-loss-for-q4-2014/BiofuelsDigest. (2015) [May 28 2015].

147. Gevo, Gevo Sells Renewable Jet Fuel to NASA, 9 March 2015. [Online]. Available at: http://ir.gevo.com/mobile.view?c=238618&v=203&d=1&id=2023808(2015) [May 28 2015].

148. Craig H, Jennifer Holmgren explains the LanzaTech biofuel breakthrough. [Online]. Available at: http://www.virgin.com/unite/business-innovation/jennifer-holmgren-

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explains-lanzatech-biofuel-breakthroughVirgin.com. (2015) [May 28 2015]. 149. Garthwaite J, Second Try: LanzaTech Graps Failed Biofuel Refinery in Georgia Pine, 20

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150. Lanzatech, Virgin Atlantic Announces HSBC to Join Unique Partnership in Development of Low Carbon Fuel, 24 October 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www.lanzatech.com/virgin-atlantic-announces-hsbc-join-unique-partnership-development-low-carbon-fuel/(2014) [May 28 2015].

151. Environmental Leader, Virgin, LanzaTech Low-Carbon Jet Fuel Earns Sustainability Certification, 20 November 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/11/20/virgin-lanzatech-low-carbon-jet-fuel-earns-sustainability-certification/Environmental Leader. (2013) [May 28 2015].

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153. NordicGreen, Swedish Biofuels awarded bio jet fuel contract by the Swedish defence, 20 April 2011. [Online]. Available at: http://www.nordicgreen.net/startups/article/swedish-biofuels-awarded-bio-jet-fuel-contract-swedish-defence(2011) [May 28 2015].

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156. ARENA, Project report: Commercial demonstration of lignocellulosics to (unique) stable Bio-Crude Oil. Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Australian Government, Australia (2013).

157. Ahlqvist T, Kettle J, Hytönen E, Niemelä K, Kivimaa A, Vanderhoek N et al., Stage 2. Future options for the cellulosic fibre value chain in the Green Triangle, South Australia: strategic technology roadmaps , business cases and policy recommendations. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Turku, Finland (2013).

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28

9 Tables Table 1 The CAAFI Fuel Readiness Level (FRL) scale and toll gates.14

LEVEL FRL DESCRIPTION FRL ‘TOLL GATE’ TECH

NO

LOG

ICA

L R&

D

1 Basic principles Feedstock & process basic principles

identified

2 Technology concept

formulated

Feedstock & complete process identified

3 Proof of concept Lab scale fuel sample produced from

realistic feedstock.

Energy balance analysis conducted for

initial environmental assessment.

Basic fuel properties validated

4 Preliminary technical

evaluation

System performance and integration

studies

Specification properties evaluated

5 Process validation Scaling from laboratory to pilot plant CER

TIFICA

TION

PR

OC

ESSES

6 Full-scale technical

evaluation

ASTM certification tests conducted: fit-for-

purpose properties evaluated, turbine hot

section testing, components and testing

7 Certification / fuel

approval

Fuel listed in international standards

CO

MM

ERC

IAL D

EPLO

YM

ENT

8 Commercialisation Business model validated for production

Airline purchase agreements secured

Plant-specific independent greenhouse gas

assessment conducted in line with

internationally-accepted methodology.

9 Production

capability

established

Full scale plant operational

29

Table 2: Planned and operational HEFA production facilities.8

COMPANY,

PROJECT &

REFERENCES

PROJECT TYPE,

LOCATION, RJF

TECHNOLOGY

BIOFUEL

CAPACITY

RJF

CAPACITY

FEEDSTOCK START-UP

DATE /

STATUS

AIRLINE INVOLVEMENT NOTES

ARA & BLUE SUN

ENERGY

HTTP://WWW.GO

BLUESUN.COM/ 22,40,41,130

Demonstration

St. Joseph, USA

Catalytic

hydrothermolysis

4,200

gal/day

(15,900

l/day)

Has RJF

capacity

Waste oils

and fats

Start-up

2014.

First fuel

deliveries

to US Navy

in 2015.

Contract signed with US Defense

Logistics Agency Energy to produce

100% drop-in diesel & RJF for US Navy.

Modification of existing

plant.

HONEYWELL UOP

HTTP://WWW.UO

P.COM/ 22,23

Demonstration

Texas, USA

HEFA-jet

250 barrels

per stream

day

(40,000

litres per

stream

day)

Has RJF

capacity

2008 Honeywell UOP’s Green Jet FuelTM has

fuelled 200 GOL commercial flights

during the 2014 FIFA world cup and 52

scheduled flights between Mexico City &

Costa Rica by Aeroméxico in 2011. Other

airlines to have used the fuel

commercially include LATAM Airlines

Group, NASA, Porter Airlines, United

Airlines, Air China, Iberia, Interjet,

Boeing, Honeywell USA TAM, KLM,

Japan Airlines, Continental Airlines, Air

New Zealand.

US Air Force, US Navy & Royal

Netherlands Air Force have used Green

Jet FuelTM for test & demonstration

flights.

8 The following currency conversion rates have been applied throughout this paper: 1 GBP = 1.67255 USD; 1 EUR = 1.38105 USD; 1 AUS = 0.903157 USD; 1 SEK = 0.117501 USD.

http://www.uop.com/

http://www.uop.com/

30

COMPANY,

PROJECT &

REFERENCES

PROJECT TYPE,

LOCATION, RJF

TECHNOLOGY

BIOFUEL

CAPACITY

RJF

CAPACITY

FEEDSTOCK START-UP

DATE /

STATUS


HONEYWELL UOP

& ALTAIR FUELS

HTTP://ALTAIRFUE

LS.COM/ 24,131

Commercial

Paramount,

California, USA

HEFA-jet

40 M

gal/yr (151

M l/yr)

initially,

with

potential

increase to

72 M

gal/yr (273

M l/yr)

Has RJF

capacity.

Inedible

natural oils,

agricultural

waste oils

Expected

2016

Offtake signed with United Airlines (15

M gal over 3 years for flights departing

LAX) & World Fuel Services

Received US $5 M grant

from California Energy

Commission.

HONEYWELL UOP

& ENI

THE ENI VENICE

BIOREFINERY

HTTP://WWW.ENI.

COM/ 19–21

Commercial

Venice, Italy

HEFA-jet

300,000

t/yr diesel

initially,

with

potential

to increase

to 500,000

t/yr

Interest in

producing

RJF

Initially palm

oil, moving

towards

waste oils &

fats

2014 Modification of existing

hydrotreatment plant.

HONEYWELL UOP

& PETRIXO

HTTP://WWW.PET

RIXO.COM/ 25,34

Commercial

Fujairah, United

Arab Emirates

HEFA-jet

150 M

gal/yr (568

M l/yr) jet

& diesel

Interest in

producing

RJF

500,000 t/yr In design Biorefinery to have

total capacity of 1 M

t/yr provided by UOP &

a second company (to

be confirmed). Petrixo

to invest US $800 M.

HONEYWELL UOP

& SG PRESTON

HTTP://SGPRESTO

N.COM/ 26,34,132

Commercial

South Point,

Lawrence County,

Ohio, USA

HEFA-jet

120 M

gal/yr (454

M l/yr)

diesel & jet

Interest in

producing

RJF

Waste fats,

oils and

greases;

distiller’s

corn oil

Expected

2017

Investment $400 M

http://altairfuels.com/

http://altairfuels.com/

http://www.eni.com/en_IT/innovation-technology/technological-focus/green-refinery/green-refinery.shtml

http://www.eni.com/en_IT/innovation-technology/technological-focus/green-refinery/green-refinery.shtml

http://www.petrixo.com/

http://www.petrixo.com/

http://sgpreston.com/

http://sgpreston.com/

31

COMPANY,

PROJECT &

REFERENCES

PROJECT TYPE,

LOCATION, RJF

TECHNOLOGY

BIOFUEL

CAPACITY

RJF

CAPACITY

FEEDSTOCK START-UP

DATE /

STATUS


Commercial

Van Wert, Ohio,

USA

HEFA-jet

120 M

gal/yr (454

M l/yr)

diesel & jet

Interest in

producing

RJF

Waste fats,

oils and

greases;

distiller’s

corn oil

Expected

by 2020

Commercial

Logansport,

Indiana, USA

HEFA-jet

120 M

gal/yr (454

M l/yr)

diesel & jet

Interest in

producing

RJF

Commercial

Michigan, Canada

HEFA-jet

120 M

gal/yr (454

M l/yr)

diesel & jet

Interest in

producing

RJF

Commercial

Ontario, Canada

HEFA-jet

120 M

gal/yr (454

M l/yr)

diesel & jet

Interest in

producing

RJF

NESTE

WWW.NESTE.COM 27,30–32,42,133

Commercial

Rotterdam, The

Netherlands

HEFA-jet

800,000

t/yr diesel

Interest in

producing

RJF

Crude palm

oil, waste

oils and fats

2011 Joined BioPort Holland for Aviation

Biofuel initiative in 2013, partnering with

Dutch government, KLM, Schiphol

Airport, SkyNRG & Port of Rotterdam to

scale up RJF production at Rotterdam

refinery.

Partner in EU ITAKA project since 2012.

Intention to produce 1.4 M litres of RJF

for project over 2015-16. Provides fuel

for world’s first mixed supply of RJF and

petroleum kerosene in conventional

hydrant system at Oslo Airport.

Commercial

Singapore

800,000

t/yr diesel

Has RJF

capacity.

2010

Commercial

Porvoo, Finland

HEFA-jet

380,000

t/yr jet &

diesel

15,000 t/yr

2007

http://www.neste.com/

32

COMPANY,

PROJECT &

REFERENCES

PROJECT TYPE,

LOCATION, RJF

TECHNOLOGY

BIOFUEL

CAPACITY

RJF

CAPACITY

FEEDSTOCK START-UP

DATE /

STATUS


RJF used by Lufthansa for 1,187

scheduled flights in 2011 (Hamburg-

Frankfurt) & one transatlantic flight

(Frankfurt-Washington DC) in 2012.

Supplies RJF to Finnish Air Force.

HEFA-diesel tested by Boeing in 2014.

Boeing and Nest working towards ASTM

approval of high-freeze point fuel.

PERTAMINA

HTTP://WWW.PER

TAMINA.COM/ 29

Commercial

Indonesia

Interest in

producing

RJF

<26 M l/yr Palm oil Expected

2018

Expected feasibility

study completion early

2016. Estimated plant

cost US$450-480 M.

SINOPEC

SINOPEC ZHENHAI

REFINING &

CHEMICAL

COMPANY

HTTP://WWW.SIN

OPECGROUP.COM/ 34,134,135

Demonstration

Zhenhai, China

18,000 t/yr

jet

Has RJF

capacity.

Palm oil,

used

cooking oil

2011 Partnered with Hainan Airlines and

Boeing for China’s first commercial RJF

flight from Beijing to Shanghai in 2015.

http://www.pertamina.com/

http://www.pertamina.com/

http://www.sinopecgroup.com/

http://www.sinopecgroup.com/

33

Table 3: Planned and operational FT production facilities.

COMPANY,

PROJECT &

REFERENCES

PROJECT TYPE

& LOCATION

BIOFUEL

CAPACITY

RJF

CAPACITY

FEEDSTOCK START-UP

DATE /

STATUS


BIOTFUEL

PROJECT

http://www.t

otal.com 42,46,48,136

Pretreatment

(torrefaction):

Demonstration

Sofiprotéol,

Venette,

France.

Gasification,

purification &

synthesis

Demonstration

Total refinery,

Dunkirk, France.

200,000

t/yr by

2020

diesel and

jet

Interest in

producing

RJF

Torrefied

biomass,

coal, crude

oil

Test phase

planned

2017,

commercial

production

2020

Partnership between : Axens, CEA, IFP

Energies Nouvelles, Sofiprotéol,

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions and

Total.

Estimated cost €180 M (US $249 M). €33 M

(US $44 M) subsidy from French

government.

FULCRUM

BIOENERGY,

SIERRA

BIOFUELS

PLANT

http://fulcru

m-

bioenergy.co

m/ 9,51,52,137

Commercial

McCarran,

Nevada, USA

10 M

gal/yr (38

M l/yr) jet

& diesel

Interest in

producing

RJF

MSW

(200,000

t/yr)

Expected

2017

Offtake agreement for

Fulcrum’s first 5 biofuel

plants signed with Cathay

Pacific Airways.

United bought a US $30

million stake in Fulcrum

Energy in 2015 and agreed

to contemplate the joint

development of five plant.

.

Estimated cost US $266 M.

US $70 million grant from US Department

of Defense (2014) and US $105 M loan

guarantee backed by US Department of

Agriculture (2015).

Plans for 5 more plants across North

America under development.

Large zero-cost MSW supply secured.

Gasification technology provided by

Thermochem Recovery International.

http://www.total.com/

http://www.total.com/

http://fulcrum-bioenergy.com/




34

COMPANY,

PROJECT &

REFERENCES

PROJECT TYPE

& LOCATION

BIOFUEL

CAPACITY

RJF

CAPACITY

FEEDSTOCK START-UP

DATE /

STATUS


RED ROCK

BIOFUELS

http://www.r

edrockbio.co

m/ 50,53,137–139

Demonstration

Lakeville,

Oregon, USA

12 M

gal/yr (45

M l/yr) jet,

diesel &

naphtha

Interest in

producing

RJF

Forestry and

sawmill

residues

(140,000

t/yr)

Expected

2017

Supply agreements with:

US Navy; Southwest

Airlines, 3 M gal/yr (11 M

L/yr); FedEx Express, 3 M

gal/yr (11 M l/yr) from

2017 to 2024.

Estimated cost US $182 M.

Received US $70 M grant from US

Departments of Agriculture and Energy &

US Navy in 2014.

http://www.redrockbio.com/



35

Table 4: Planned and operational Direct Sugars to Hydrocarbons (DSHC) production facilities.

COMPANY, PROJECT &

REFERENCES

PROJECT TYPE

& LOCATION

BIOFUEL

CAPACITY

RJF

CAPACITY

FEEDSTOCK START-UP DATE /

STATUS

AIRLINE

INVOLVEMENT

NOTES

AMYRIS & TOTAL

HTTPS://AMYRIS.COM/ 104,140–142

Commercial

Brotas, São

Paulo, Brazil

40,000 t/yr

biofuels

Has RJF

capacity

Sugarcane,

molasses.

First commercial

shipment of farnesene

– Feb 2013.

Partnerships with

Airbus, Safran and Air

France.

Facility certified by the

Roundtable on

Sustainable

Biomaterials.

https://amyris.com/

36

Table 5: Planned and operational alcohol to jet (ATJ) facilities.

COMPANY, PROJECT &

REFERENCES

PROJECT TYPE,

LOCATION &

INTERMEDIATE

BIOFUEL

CAPACITY

RJF

CAPACITY

FEEDSTOCK START-UP

DATE /

STATUS


BYOGY

HTTP://WWW.BYOGY.C

OM/ 99,143–145

Pilot

Bryan, Texas,

USA

Ethanol

Has RJF

capacity

Agave,

sugarcane,

corn, sweet

sorghum,

cassava,

sugar beet.

Operation

al

Partnership with BA through

CLEEN programme.

Agreement signed with Avianca

Brazil to accelerate ASTM

certification.

Offtake agreement with Qatar

Airways.

Partnerships with the FAA,

Rolls Royce, BA and Pratt &

Whitney through the

CLEEN programme. Testing

programme has supported

ASTM assessment.

GEVO

HTTP://WWW.GEVO.CO

M/ 4,6,69,76,79,96,97,101,146,147

Alcohol

synthesis:

Commercial

Luverne,

Minnesota, USA

Biorefinery:

Demonstration

Silsbee, Texas

Isobutanol

83.28 M l/yr

bioethanol;

68.14 M l/yr

isobutanol

Has RJF

capacity

Sugary

feedstocks

(maize,

grains, sugar

cane)

Co-

production

of ethanol

&

isobutanol

began

June 2014.

Some jet

fuel has

been

produced.

Supply agreements signed with

Alaska Airlines and United

Airlines. Alaska Airlines plans to

fly first commercial ATJ flight in

2016.

Fuel testing agreement with

Lufthansa, supported by EC.

US Air Force has completed test

flights with 50% blend.

US Navy completed first

supersonic ATJ flight using fuel

in Dec 2014.

Coproduction

ethanol/isobutanol plant

developed as retrofit to

existing ethanol plant.

LANZATECH / BEIJING

SHOUGANG,

LANZATECH NEW

ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

COMPANY

WWW.LANZATECH.COM

Demonstration

Shougang Steel

Mill, Beijing,

China

Ethanol

300 t/yr

ethanol

Has RJF

capacity

Steel flue

gas

2013 Partnership signed in 2011 with

Virgin Atlantic, Boeing and

Swedish Biofuels to produce 15

M gallons/yr (57 M l/yr) of RJF,

sufficient to fuel Virgin’s

Shanghai-London route. HSBC

Beijing Shougang plant is

first RJF production facility

to be certified by the

Roundtable on Sustainable

Biomaterials.

http://www.byogy.com/

http://www.byogy.com/

http://www.gevo.com/

http://www.gevo.com/

http://www.lanzatech.com/

37

COMPANY, PROJECT &

REFERENCES

PROJECT TYPE,

LOCATION &

INTERMEDIATE

BIOFUEL

CAPACITY

RJF

CAPACITY

FEEDSTOCK START-UP

DATE /

STATUS


46,85,86,94,95,101,148–152 and GE are also partners in this

venture.

Lanzatech has plans for 2

commercial plants to start-

up in 2016 producing 10-30

million gallons/yr (38-113

M l/yr) ethanol.

LANZATECH, BLUE

SCOPE STEEL MILL

WWW.LANZATECH.COM 46,85,86,94,95,101,148–152

Pilot

Blue Scope Steel

Mill, Glenbrook,

New Zealand

15,000

gal/yr

(57,000 l/yr)

ethanol

Steel flue

gas

2008

LANZATECH BAOSTEEL

NEW ENERGY COMPANY


Demonstration

Baosteel Steel

Mill, Shanghai,

China

300 t/yr

(ethanol)

Steel flue

gas

2013

LANZATECH / WBT


Demonstration

Taiwan

0.1 t/day

ethanol

Steel flue

gas

2014

LANZATECH, FREEDOM

PINES BIOREFINERY


Pilot

Soperton,

Georgia USA

250 l/day

ethanol &

chemicals

Wood

residues

(125 ton/day

dry wood)

2014

SWEDISH BIOFUELS,

‘PRODUCTION OF FULLY

SYNTHETIC PARAFFINIC

JET FUEL FROM WOOD

AND OTHER BIOMASS’

HTTP://WWW.SWEDISH

BIOFUELS.SE/ 4,46,69,93,153,154

Demonstration

Ethanol

<10,000 t/yr

jet, diesel &

gasoline

5,000 t/yr MSW,

biogas, grain

crops,

agricultural

& forestry

residues

Project

completio

n expected

2019

Lufthansa is a project partner.

EC FP7 project with

Abengoa Bioenergy,

Lufthansa, SkyNRG, SCA

Energy E4Tech, Remeski

Keskus, Institute for

European Studies.

Total cost €56M (US $74





http://www.swedishbiofuels.se/


38

COMPANY, PROJECT &

REFERENCES

PROJECT TYPE,

LOCATION &

INTERMEDIATE

BIOFUEL

CAPACITY

RJF

CAPACITY

FEEDSTOCK START-UP

DATE /

STATUS


M), with €28 M (US $37 M)

from EU FP7.

SWEDISH BIOFUELS

HTTP://WWW.SWEDISH

BIOFUELS.SE/ 4,46,69,93,153,154

Pilot

Stockholm,

Sweden

10 t/yr jet,

gasoline &

diesel

4.8t/yr Started

2013

Supply agreement with Swedish

Defence Materiel

Administration for fighter jet

fuel.



39

Table 6: Planned and operational HDCJ production facilities.

COMPANY,

PROJECT &

REFERENCES

PROJECT TYPE

& LOCATION

BIOFUEL

CAPACITY

RJF

CAPACITY

FEEDSTOCK START-

UP DATE

/ STATUS

AIRLINE

INVOLVEMENT

NOTES

LICELLA

HTTP://WW

W.LICELLA.C

OM.AU/ 101,114,155–157

Pilot

Somersby, New

South Wales,

Australia

2008 Memoranda of

understanding

with Virgin

Airlines & Air

New Zealand to

develop RJF.

Interested in conversion of pulp & paper plants. Plant are being designed at a scale to process similar quantities of feedstock as paper mills. Partnership with Norske Skog, which operates two paper mills in Australia.

Demonstration cost: AU$10 M (US $9 M), with AU$4.6 M (US $4.2 M) from Australian Government.

Pre-commercial estimated cost AU$114 M (US $103 M). AU$5.4 M (US $4.9 M) grant from Australian Government for feasibility study (2013).

Demonstration

Somersby, New

South Wales,

Australia

350 t/yr

bio-oil

Radiata pine sawdust,

lignocellulosic bioenergy

crops, banna grass, algae

(Initially 1,000 oven dry

tonne/yr, expanded to

10,000 oven dry

tonne/yr)

2011

Demonstration 20 M l/yr

bio-crude

50,000 oven dry tonne

/yr

In design

http://www.licella.com.au/



40

Table 7: Planned and operational APR production facilities.

COMPANY,

PROJECT &

REFERENCES

PROJECT TYPE &

LOCATION

BIOFUEL

CAPACITY

RJF

CAPACITY

FEEDSTOCK START-

UP DATE

/ STATUS

AIRLINE

INVOLVEMENT

NOTES

VIRENT

HTTP://WW

W.VIRENT.C

OM/ 79,101,122,158,159

Demonstration

Madison,

Wisconsin, USA

5,000 gal/yr

(19,000 l/yr)

jet & diesel

Has RJF

capacity

Various

cellulosic and

starch/sugar

feedstocks incl.

corn stover

Jan 2013 Corporate partners include Royal Dutch Shell, Coca-

Cola, Cargill, Honda, Renmatix.

Project to convert corn stover to jet fuel funded by

US $1.5M grant from FAA and US Dept. of Transport

in 2011.

http://www.virent.com/



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