Fuel via Low Carbon Integrated Technology from Ethanol
About this project
Flite will supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to address the needs of airlines in reaching their internal and globally mandated carbon reduction Targets
TARGETS
Improve
production performance
GHG
savings
Optimize ATJ production economics
Demonstrate the flexibility of ethanol based ATJ technology for meeting the needs of commercial aviation
OBJECTIVES
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Produced From Waste-Based Ethanol Resources
Demonstrate precommercial scale production of Alcohol-to-Jet – Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene
Ensure a global monitoring of the technology from a technical, environmental, economic and socioeconomic perspective.
Advance the development and uptake of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) that offers a solution to the aviation industry’s emissions challenges
Developing and implementing
an innovation strategy
Partners
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam
SkyNRG is a pioneer and global leader in Sustainable Aviation Fuel with the industry’s biggest dedicated sustainable aviation fuel team. SkyNRG aims to replace fossil kerosene with SAFs, driven by sustainable practices throughout the supply chain. Following a technology-agnostic approach and a focus on analyzing, developing, and executing SAF production projects by creating investment-grade business cases. We also source, produce, blend, and distribute SAF, and develop customer programs to help co-fund the price gap over fossil kerosene.
To ensure we make the right decisions regarding the sustainability of our operations, projects, and products, SkyNRG is structurally advised by an independent sustainability board with operations certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), the highest possible certification standard for sustainability. Find out more at www.skynrg.com
SkyNRG’s role in FLITE
SkyNRG will act as the project coordinator and will manage the downstream supply chain development. This will involve coordinating the project, assessing and coordinating downstream operations, and ensuring sustainability by establishing traceability procedures for SAF supply.
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam
LanzaTech, a family of companies that includes LanzaTech BV (LTBV), is the global leader in alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technology and gas fermentation. By harnessing the power of biology and big data to create climate-safe materials and fuels, the company has created a platform that provides novel and economical routes to ethanol, sustainable aviation fuel, and chemicals from waste carbon, including syngas generated from any biomass resource, reformed biogas and industrial off-gases. LanzaTech’s first commercial scale gas fermentation plant has produced over 20M gallons of ethanol which is the equivalent of keeping over 120,000 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. Additional plants are under construction globally. Further information is available at www.lanzatech.com.
Launched in June 2020 by LanzaTech, LanzaJet, Inc., is enabling global decarbonization of the aviation sector through local production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The LanzaJet process can use any source of sustainable ethanol for sustainable aviation fuel production. A partnership between LanzaTech and the U.S Energy Department’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) led to the development of a unique catalytic process to upgrade ethanol to alcohol-to-jet synthetic paraffinic kerosene (ATJ-SPK) which LanzaTech scaled up from the laboratory to a field pilot. LanzaJet investors include, Suncor Energy Inc., LanzaTech, British Airways, Shell, and Mitsui & Co. Further information is available at https://www.lanzajet.com/
LanzaTech’s role in FLITE
As the technology lead and operator of the project, LTBV is engaged in most work packages and leads the engineering and demonstration activities. LTBV will draw on the expertise of the LT Inc. management and technical experts as staff are hired and trained in the Netherlands for the project. The FLITE project is fully aligned with the mission of LTBV: “Combating climate change by recycling waste carbon into new products”.
GERMANY
Frankfurt on the Main
The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML is the top choice for comprehensive logistics research and work in all fields of internal and external logistics. In the spirit of the Guiding Principles of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, we develop solutions for immediate use by companies and also perform theoretical research for a period of two to five years for individual cases.
Fraunhofer IML is a public research institute within the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Projects are therefore carried out independently and objectively, from the initial analysis to the evaluation of the implementation. Not only are the results from the research activities for finding solutions incorporated into current projects but the requirements and special logistic challenges that arise from projects are also turned into new research tasks.
Fraunhofer IML’s role in FLITE
In FLITE, the Fraunhofer IML department for aviation logistics is responsible for the successful execution of the communication and dissemination strategy and activities, cooperation with relevant sustainable aviation projects and initiatives, as well as for a comprehensive socio-economic impact analysis of the FLITE project components throughout the FLITE supply chain.
SWITZERLAND
Geneva
The Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) is an international, multi-stakeholder, independent organisation that supports the development of the global bio-based and circular economy through sustainability solutions, certification, innovation and collaborative partnerships. RSB’s extremely robust approach to sustainability is grounded in its best-in-class standard – developed by a multi-stakeholder group (including members of the FLITE consortium) to address the most pressing challenges and needs of the bioeconomy – has enabled RSB to become the partner of choice for the bio-based and circular economy as it seeks to combat climate change while also ensuring social development and environmental protection. www.rsb.org
RSB’s role in FLITE
RSB will provide key support in preparing the project through guidance on RSB certification of the facility. This will involve supply chain mapping of feedstocks, risk assessments and screening, training to the facility operators, and ongoing support to prepare for certification.
UNITED KINGDOM
London
E4tech, an ERM company, is a strategic consultancy focused on sustainable energy with vast experience of managing and leading complex programmes of work for government and private sector clients. Since 1997, E4tech has completed several hundred projects related to low carbon fuels, hydrogen, renewable electricity, sustainability and emissions. E4tech also performs detailed modelling and assessment work including techno-economic analyses of fuel options; greenhouse gas and feedstock sustainability assessments; and supply chain/competitor analysis. All these different types of work underpin E4tech’s deep knowledge in low/zero emission technologies, their applicability to different applications and their innovation needs. www.e4tech.com
E4tech’s role in FLITE
E4tech will lead the life cycle assessment that will objectively quantify the environmental impacts and benefits of all stages of the FLITE ATJ-SPK production process. The LCA will follow relevant methodologies (e.g. RED II Directive and CORSIA).
Related Initiatives
GLAMOUR – GLycerol to Aviation and Marine prOducts with sUstainable Recycling, is a project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme aimed the design, scale-up and validation of an integrated process that converts the waste bio-based feedstock such as crude glycerol into aviation and marine diesel fuels. The focus of the project will be a combination of high pressure, auto-thermal reforming/gasification using chemical looping to produce syngas and the integration of Fischer-Tropsch compact reactor integrated with 3D printed structured catalyst. The GLAMOUR process will achieve full conversion of the crude glycerol into synthetic paraffine kerosene (FT-SPK) to be used as jetfuel and into marine diesel oil (MDO) with an energy efficiency of 65%. These improvements would increase the overall revenue of existing 2nd generation bio-diesel plants reducing the cost for large scale biomass-to-liquid production processes up to 35% and the CO2 emissions up to 70%. The project will focus on the scale up of the two processes to achieve a final TRL5 demonstration for 1000 hours by using 2 kg/h of glycerol in a packed bed chemical looping system and a downstream FT reactor.
The GLAMOUR Consortium, coordinated by the University of Manchester, includes 2 universities, 3 large research centers and 5 industries (including SMEs) which will combine fundamental knowledge on gas-solid and catalytic reactions, material design and engineering process design, economics, environmental analysis, societal and policy making decision.
Further details about GLAMOUR can be found on the project website and on LinkedIn and Twitter accounts!