French E-Fuel SAF Plans Secure Funding

airplane over trees
Credit: Dziggyfoto / Getty Images

Elyse Energy, a French producer of low-carbon molecules for use in chemicals and fuels, has secured funding to support development of projects to produce power-to-liquid sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and e-methanol for maritime transport in France and Spain.

The funding is being provided by Hy24, a clean hydrogen infrastructure fund, and Mirova, an investment management company specializing in sustainability financing. The funding will support Elyse’s plans to deploy almost 2.5 gigawatts of capacity to produce 200,000 metric tons (66 million gal.) of SAF and 1 million tons of e-methanol a year.

Elyse is leading the BioTJet project to build a plant in the Lacq basin in southwest France to produce 75,000 metric tons of e-biokerosene a year beginning in 2028, enough to meet 20% of France’s national obligation for the use of e-fuel SAF by 2030 under the EU’s RefuelEU mandate, the company says. The fuel will be produced from agricultural and forestry residues via biomass gasification and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

In March, Elyse partnered with French thermo-catalytic process specialist Khimod on the Avebio project to demonstrate the production of e-fuel SAF from CO2 generated during the production of biofuels. Funded by the France 2030 investment program, the partners will explore the launch of an industrial pilot plant in the Landes region of southwest France to convert CO2 from a bioethanol plant into SAF.

Graham Warwick

Graham leads Aviation Week's coverage of technology, focusing on engineering and technology across the aerospace industry, with a special focus on identifying technologies of strategic importance to aviation, aerospace and defense.