What is Synthetic Aviation Fuel (SAF)?

Commercial aviation is a sector that’s hard to decarbonize; meanwhile, the demand for air travel continues to grow. According to a scientific study titled Pathways to net-zero emissions from aviation, improvements in aircraft energy efficiency could collectively mitigate up to 27% of CO2 (equivalent to 1.2 billion tons) of projected business-as-usual aviation emissions by 2050. The driving force behind this transformation is synthetic aviation fuel (SAF), an innovative fuel produced from a variety of feedstocks while promising a cleaner future for the planet.

Corporations are increasingly more focused on addressing their GHG emissions. SAF is projected to play a critical role in helping not only the aviation industry reduce its emissions, but also in allowing corporations with extensive corporate travel to reduce their Scope 3 emissions.

Our AIRMADE™ Technology, which creates our AIRMADE® SAF, is a scalable, modular technology solution that transforms carbon dioxide into an endless resource.

Carbon Transformation: This is AIRCO (formerly AIR COMPANY)’s key innovative technology that converts carbon and hydrogen into liquid products such as fuel.

CO₂ Capture: We work with partners to acquire our CO₂. They capture it from industrial plants before it's emitted into the atmosphere. The CO₂ is then cooled, pressurized, and liquified, and then sent to our facility in tanks ready for the next stage.

Electrolysis: On-site electrolysis splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen is vented as clean air, while the hydrogen is prepared for the Carbon Conversion Reactor.

Carbon Conversion: The core of the AIRMADE™ Technology is the patented Carbon Conversion Reactor. Here, the captured CO₂ and hydrogen meet in a tubular, fixed-bed flow system filled with a proprietary catalyst. This facilitates a chemical reaction that produces a reactor liquid composed of an oil (or hydrocarbon) layer and an aqueous (or water) layer.

Separation: The oil is separated from the water to result in a synthetic crude.

Post-Processing: The post-processing stage is an integral step in the process that is necessary to align the final product with the rigorous requirements of engine and aircraft Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and the property requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D7566 specification.

Upgrading: The synthetic crude is processed through reactors based on conventional refinery technology to produce a fully formulated synthetic middle distillate. This includes the following steps:

1. Hydrogenation: Conversion of the raw fuel mixture into saturated hydrocarbons (called paraffins) by removing impurities, essential for creating 100% drop-in SAF.

2. Isomerization: Transformation of the paraffins from straight-chain to branched hydrocarbons, enhancing the freezing point, crucial for high-altitude performance.

3. Hydrogenation Pt. II: Conversion of aromatics to cycloparaffins through saturation of carbon-carbon double bonds, improving SAF's density and freezing point.

4. Distillation: A specialized distillation process separates the synthetic middle distillate by boiling point into jet fuel, diesel, and other fuel components.

Unlike other SAF pathways that rely on biological feedstocks, e-SAF is a groundbreaking synthetic fuel that requires hydrogen and carbon dioxide (biogenic or non-biogenic).

Short for "electro-fuelled synthetic aviation fuel," e-SAF is manufactured through a closed-loop system. e-SAF can be carbon neutral if it is produced using biogenic or atmospheric CO₂. Once the e-SAF is combusted, the emitted CO₂ returns to the atmosphere where it was previously removed from. The electricity powering this process is derived from energy sources like nuclear, geothermal, or hydro.

Climate Change Mitigation: Adopting sustainable aviation fuels offers a holistic approach to decouple economic growth from environmental impacts. Our technology, for example, allows us to recycle CO₂ by taking CO₂ that otherwise would have been vented into the atmosphere as waste, and turning it into a renewable feedstock for producing SAF. By using biogenic CO₂, we ensure that AIRMADE® SAF operates within the natural carbon cycle and does not add additional emissions to the atmosphere.

Energy Security: SAF pathways rely on novel sustainable feedstocks, which offers an opportunity to diversify where the fuels that the modern economy depends on come from. By diversifying the feedstocks and moving away from reliance on fossil fuels, SAF offers additional benefits such as energy security and supply chain diversification.

Performance Breakthroughs: The cleaner burning properties help reduce harmful non-CO₂ emissions, enhancing local air quality around airports and contributing to a healthier planet.

SAFs contain fewer aromatic components compared to conventional jet fuels. This reduction leads to less particulate matter being emitted from the engines, which in turn reduces the formation of contrails (condensation trails)—the white lines you see in the sky behind high-flying jets. They’re known to contribute to climate change by trapping outgoing longwave radiation. According to several studies, contrails are responsible for around 35% of all of the planetary warming from aviation. NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) conclude that sustainable, cleaner-burning jet fuels can reduce ice crystal contrail formation at cruising altitude by 50%-70%, lessening a flight’s environmental impact.

Not all is clear skies, though. Some of the primary challenges for a full SAF rollout include funding for research and development, limited networks that impede the development of logistics and operations, as well as feedstock sources (such as waste oils and agricultural residues), which can constrain the industry’s expansion. The current technologies for SAF production are more expensive than conventional jet fuel production, making SAF less economically competitive without subsidies or incentives.

Transitioning to 100% synthetic aviation fuel (SAF) would revolutionize the aviation industry.

Beyond the numbers and the technology lies an ethical dimension. The International Civil Aviation Organization has adopted a long-term global aspirational goal for international aviation of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in support of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement's 1.5C goal. With its potential to dramatically reduce lifecycle carbon emissions, SAFs are not just an option; they are a critical variable in the aviation industry's carbon equation.

For synthetic aviation fuels (SAFs) to become widely available, several challenges persist, including high production costs, policy uncertainty, green premium, and the "who pays" question, feedstock aggregation and distribution at scale, and the complexities of securing capital for novel projects.

When we better understand what sustainable aviation fuel is and its impact on the aviation industry and environment, we can more effectively implement this technology, influence policy, and carve out a path toward long-term change.

SAFs, with their potential to dramatically reduce lifecycle carbon emissions, are not just an option; they are a critical variable in the aviation industry's carbon equation.