Abu Dhabi (Al Ittihad)

The alliance, which includes Masdar, Total Energy, Siemens Energy and Marubeni, announced the start of procedures to obtain the necessary licenses for the production of sustainable jet fuel from methanol. This path, led by Masdar, offers a new option to help meet global market demand for sustainable jet fuel and efforts to decarbonize the aviation industry.
The alliance is partnering with the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa Group and Khalifa University of Science and Technology as part of a pilot initiative to produce sustainable and green aviation fuel. As of January 2021, partners will be able to conduct a variety of technology vendor assessments, feasibility studies and projects, and work closely with regulators on compliance issues. The coalition has already identified methanol as jet fuel as the way to produce the envisioned technology. The “Synthetic Paraffin Kerosene” route was certified by the International Air Transport Association in 2016 for meeting international aviation fuel standards. This pathway includes many alcoholic substances such as ethanol and isobutanol.
The alliance aims to expand the range of alcohols covered in this way, including methanol, a mainstay of the chemical industry.
While the individual components of the methanol to jet fuel pathway are generally based on specific technologies, they have not been pre-combined to create a sustainable jet fuel and therefore the pathway has not been pre-certified. The coalition is now working with methanol blasting technology licensees to get this new path approved as soon as possible.
This fuel helps reduce carbon emissions for air transport by up to 80% across multiple stages of production when made from waste and waste.