Boeing has partnered with Norsk e-Fuel to support “one of Europe’s first industrial scale Power-to-Liquids (PtL) facilities, an investment intended to accelerate the production and availability of next-generation SAF in the Nordic region.
Under the agreement, Boeing’s undisclosed investment will help facilitate the production of e-SAF; a strategic partnership that “combines Boeing’s SAF industry leadership and fuels expertise with Norsk e-Fuel’s technology know-how and strong network of carriers, including Norway’s largest air carrier, Norwegian,” explained Norsk e-Fuel.
Unlike HEFA-produced SAF (the most common production method for commercially available fuel today, typically employing biomass, used cooking oil or other feedstocks), PtL fuel is a synthetically produced liquid hydrocarbon. ‘Green’ hydrogen (produced via renewable energy) is combined with CO2 (captured from ambient air and other biogenic sources) via the Fischer-Tropsch pathway, with the resulting product then converted to an alternative fuel that can be blended with existing Jet-A if required.
“Our partnership to advance e-fuels will help mobilise the commercialisation of SAF in the Nordics and across the world, increasing accessibility and availability for our customers as we help build a robust SAF ecosystem,” commented Steve Gillard, Boeing’s regional sustainability director for Europe, the Middle East, Turkey, Africa and Central Asia.
With national and international mandates calling for increased use of SAF (including the Refuel EU initiative, aiming to reach a target of 6% by 2030 and 70% by 2050), demand is still far outstripping supply – with SAF accounting for only 0.53% of global commercial fuel use in 2024. However, as Norsk e-Fuel explains: “While the technologies are scaled, ready-to-use and reliable”, they are also “commercially available on the market today in larger volumes, allowing [production] to quickly scale up”.
