Project description
A high-efficiency, low-cost alternative to produce sustainable aviation fuels from CO2 and H2
Aviation fuels derived from non-fossil resources are the only way to diminish the hefty carbon footprint of air transport. The EU-funded TAKE-OFF project will bring together leading industrial players and prominent research institutes to develop an innovative process for producing sustainable aviation fuels with higher efficiency and lower costs compared to other power-to-liquid alternatives. State-of-the-art successful attempts to turn carbon dioxide into jet fuel involve complex processes such as the Fischer-Tropsch process. The unique TAKE-OFF technology will be based on converting carbon dioxide and green hydrogen into fuel via ethylene as an intermediate. In this process, carbon dioxide is captured from industrial flue gases and reacts with hydrogen produced by renewable electricity to create light olefins.
Objective
TAKE-OFF is an industrially driven project that will be a game-changer in the cost effecTAKE-OFF is an industrially driven project that will be a game-changer in the cost effective production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from CO2 and hydrogen. Due to their strict criteria in terms of physical and chemical properties, the aviation sector is highly limited in the number of options for meeting sustainability goals.
The unique TAKE-OFF technology is based on conversion of CO2 and H2 to SAF via ethylene as intermediate. The industrial partners SkyNRG (SAF developer) and FEV (power systems) will team up with ground-breaking research groups at CNRS (catalyst development), TNO (reactor and process design), and RWTH (engine out emissions reduction) to deliver a highly innovative process which produces SAF at lower costs, higher energy efficiency and higher carbon efficiency to the crude jet fuel product than the current benchmark Fischer-Tropsch process. The project will further leverage the investments in the ALIGN-CCUS (ERA-NET ACT) project with the involvement of key industrial players in the development of synthetic sustainable fuels. TAKE-OFF’s key industrial players are RWE (power producer), MHPSE (energy technology provider), and AKEU (electrolysis systems), allowing the demonstration of the full technology chain, utilizing industrial captured CO2 and electrolytically produced hydrogen. The demonstration activities will provide valuable data to the University of Southern Denmark for comprehensive technical and economic and environmental analyses with an outlook on Chemical Factories of the Future. The consortium is further supplemented by the leading industry association, CO2 Value Europe, for communication and exploitation.
The achievement of the project objectives will contribute directly to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, European Green Deal, and the Renewable Energy Directive II, where sustainable aviation fuels are receiving increased attention.
Fields of science
- natural scienceschemical scienceselectrochemistryelectrolysis
- natural scienceschemical sciencescatalysis
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryaliphatic compounds
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuels
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
2595 DA Den Haag
Netherlands