US-based aerospace conglomerate Honeywell will combine its ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) technology with the GranBio Technologies’ patented ethanol AVAP technology to produce carbon-neutral sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from biomass residues at the latter’s forthcoming US demonstration plant, said Honeywell in a press statement issued on Monday.
“GranBio’s patented AVAP process converts biomass, including forest and agricultural residues, to pure low-cost, low-carbon-intensity sugars, lignin, and nanocellulose. The cellulosic sugars are converted to both SAF, through Honeywell’s ETJ technology, and biochemicals, through a separate process,” it said. “Using forest biomass-derived ethanol from the AVAP process, jet fuel produced from Honeywell’s ethanol-to-jet fuel process can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net zero on a total lifecycle basis, compared to petroleum-based jet fuel,” it added.
“Combining our biorefinery expertise with Honeywell experience in developing and scaling fuel technologies will help ensure SAF supply goals while supporting GranBio’s mission to provide integrated value chain solutions throughout the world for net zero SAF from biomass,” said Bernardo Gradin, GranBio CEO. “The AVAP technology has great potential, depending on feedstock and plant configuration to allow carbon negative SAF with current life cycle analysis.”“Plus, in addition to vast forest and agricultural residue available for feedstocks, there is an enormous potential to retrofit idle pulp and paper facilities in the US, revitalizing forestry value chains and rural manufacturing with great social, environmental, and economic impact,” Gradin added.
“GranBio’s low carbon feedstock coupled with Honeywell’s SAF expertise will help decarbonize air travel,” said Barry Glickman, vice president, general manager, Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions. “Our advanced ETJ process is ready-now and builds upon Honeywell’s near twenty years’ experience in renewable fuels. Honeywell’s renewable fuels solutions, including ETJ, incorporate integrated, modular designs, that enable producers like GranBio to build new SAF capacity more than a year faster than is possible with traditional construction approaches.”
“GranBio’s AVAP aims to enable worldwide net zero SAF production by utilizing abundant, low-cost biomass feedstocks and diversification of income streams through value-added products beyond SAF, providing significant cost advantage as compared to other SAF producers. It’s subsidiary AVAPCO was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive an $80M grant to support the demonstration plant that will produce ~2 million gallons per year of SAF upon start-up in 2026,” the release said.
Honeywell said that it now offers solutions across a range of feedstocks to meet the rapidly growing demand for renewable fuels, including SAF. Honeywell’s renewable fuels portfolio includes ethanol to jet technology, while the recently announced Honeywell UOP eFining converts green hydrogen and carbon dioxide into eFuels. The company recently committed to achieve carbon neutrality in its operations and facilities by 2035.
Meanwhile, last month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released its Fuel Efficiency Gap Analysis (FEGA), a part of the aviation industry’s quest to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. “On average, FEGA has identified fuel savings of 4.4% per airline audited. If fully realized across all audited airlines, these savings, which stem primarily from flight operations and dispatch, equate to removing 3.4 million fuel-powered cars from the road,” said IATA.
“LOT Polish Airlines (LOT) was one of the airlines to undertake the FEGA, which identified the potential to shave its annual fuel consumption by several percent. That equates to an annual reduction by tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon from LOT’s operations,” said IATA, adding that its FEGA team analyzed LOT’s operations against industry benchmarks in flight dispatch, ground operations, and flight operations to identify fuel savings potential. “The most significant ones were identified in flight planning, emission reduction through implementation of aviation procedures and refueling operations,” it said. “FEGA revealed specific areas where fuel efficiency improvements can be made. The next step is implementation to actually achieve the benefits of improved environmental performance and lower operating costs”, said Dorota Dmuchowska, Chief Operating Officer at LOT Polish Airlines.
“Every drop counts. Since its inception in 2005, FEGA has helped airlines identify cumulative savings of 15.2 million tonnes of carbon by cutting fuel consumption by 4.76 million tonnes. LOT is the latest example of an airline exploring all opportunities to achieve every incremental efficiency possible in fuel consumption. That’s good for the environment and for the bottom line,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist.
