Periodic Reporting for period 3 - BIO4A (Advanced sustainable BIOfuels for Aviation)
Reporting period: 2021-05-01 to 2023-06-30
BIO4A – Biofuels for Aviation, is a Horizon 2020 project launched in 2018 to demonstrate the first large industrial-scale production and use of sustainable aviation fuel in Europe, and to investigate the potential to recover dry marginal land in Southern EU. The project was carried out by an international consortium of seven partners including industries, research organizations and SMEs, coordinated by RE-CORD - Renewable Energy Consortium for Research and Demonstration, and ended in May 2023.
BIO4A had a twofold nature, composed by ad-hoc designed industrial and research components.
In the context of the industrial component, BIO4A aimed at demonstrating the full value chain by producing commercial-scale volumes of ASTM-certified biojet (HEFA) at competitive prices, as the main way to establish a production capacity. This work led to significant achievements, that can also be further exploited after the end of the project. As part of its BIO4A activities, ENI - the main industrial partner of the project, produced commercial-scale volumes of sustainable SAF from residual lipids (1,000 metric tons), fully compliant with ASTM standards and regulations on aviation fuels. ENI also managed to increase the production capacity of SAF, by building a supplementary process pathway through HVO-Naphta and by refurbishing a previously unused distillation column, that is now used for sustainable renewable fuels production. The SAF was then distributed to Schipol airport and used for commercial flights with business-as-usual, conventional logistics, through the join collaboration of SKYNRG and KLM.
The research work was mainly dedicated to developing and evaluating feedstock alternatives to waste and residual lipids. The focus of the work was the sustainable production of virgin lipids from Camelina sativa, a drought-resistant oleaginous crop, also grown in combination with biochar as soil amendment, as a strategy to increase soil health and climate resilience in EU dry Mediterranean land.
BIO4A had a twofold nature, composed by ad-hoc designed industrial and research components.
In the context of the industrial component, BIO4A aimed at demonstrating the full value chain by producing commercial-scale volumes of ASTM-certified biojet (HEFA) at competitive prices, as the main way to establish a production capacity. This work led to significant achievements, that can also be further exploited after the end of the project. As part of its BIO4A activities, ENI - the main industrial partner of the project, produced commercial-scale volumes of sustainable SAF from residual lipids (1,000 metric tons), fully compliant with ASTM standards and regulations on aviation fuels. ENI also managed to increase the production capacity of SAF, by building a supplementary process pathway through HVO-Naphta and by refurbishing a previously unused distillation column, that is now used for sustainable renewable fuels production. The SAF was then distributed to Schipol airport and used for commercial flights with business-as-usual, conventional logistics, through the join collaboration of SKYNRG and KLM.
The research work was mainly dedicated to developing and evaluating feedstock alternatives to waste and residual lipids. The focus of the work was the sustainable production of virgin lipids from Camelina sativa, a drought-resistant oleaginous crop, also grown in combination with biochar as soil amendment, as a strategy to increase soil health and climate resilience in EU dry Mediterranean land.
ENI – the main industrial partner of the project, produced commercial-scale volumes of sustainable SAF from residual lipids (1,000 metric tons), fully compliant with ASTM standards and regulations on aviation fuels. ENI also managed to increase the production capacity of SAF, by building a supplementary process pathway through HVO-Naphta and by refurbishing a previously unused distillation column, that is now used for sustainable renewable fuels production. The SAF was then delivered to Schiphol airport and used for commercial flights with business-as-usual, conventional logistics, through the join collaboration of SKYNRG and KLM.
New industrial capacity, and a new HEFA production chain, has thus been implemented and demonstrated at full commercial scale.
This work was complemented by a dedicated market analysis of residual lipids in the EU and globally. The effect of disruptive market conditions due to pandemic and energy crisis indeed impacted in the analysis, which however identified a constant growth in UCO prices, slightly reducing in the latest months.
The main groundbreaking results of BIO4A research was the demonstration at pilot scale that Carbon-negative HEFA production is possible when Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) is permanently increased through the addition of biochar amendment from lignocellulosic residues. This brings the aviation biofuel value chain beyond the Net Zero target.
BIO4A explored for the first time the application of the new REDII Implementing Regulation 2022/996, which introduced the “Esca” factor in its Annex V: this factor considers the variation of Carbon stock in soil. The EU implementing regulation recognises the use of biochar as a sustainable agronomic practice, the one with the highest potential for Carbon sequestration (threshold set at 45 gCO2eq/MJ).
Within BIO4A, pilot cultivations in Spain and Italy were performed by Camelina Company España and RE-CORD, and the potential benefits in terms of GHG reduction were calculated by CENER under experimental and optimised conditions, in a larger scale approach and using the REDII-IR formula.
The GHG savings can be as high as 107%-128% under optimal conditions. This result also offers to farmers and stakeholders an opportunity to expand the feedstock base for Sustainable Aviation Fuel production.
New types of lysimeters were also designed, built, and operated in brand new climatic chambers, to replicate environmental conditions and assess mass, water and nutrient balances in very controlled conditions.
Different Camelina varieties were studied, to select the most performing ones for the given harsh conditions.
Finally, EC JRC assessed the potential application of the BIO4A solution to the EU MED region, where more than 8.5 Mha are under marginalization and desertification. JRC concluded that a significant production potential exists in Spain, Italy and Greece.
New industrial capacity, and a new HEFA production chain, has thus been implemented and demonstrated at full commercial scale.
This work was complemented by a dedicated market analysis of residual lipids in the EU and globally. The effect of disruptive market conditions due to pandemic and energy crisis indeed impacted in the analysis, which however identified a constant growth in UCO prices, slightly reducing in the latest months.
The main groundbreaking results of BIO4A research was the demonstration at pilot scale that Carbon-negative HEFA production is possible when Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) is permanently increased through the addition of biochar amendment from lignocellulosic residues. This brings the aviation biofuel value chain beyond the Net Zero target.
BIO4A explored for the first time the application of the new REDII Implementing Regulation 2022/996, which introduced the “Esca” factor in its Annex V: this factor considers the variation of Carbon stock in soil. The EU implementing regulation recognises the use of biochar as a sustainable agronomic practice, the one with the highest potential for Carbon sequestration (threshold set at 45 gCO2eq/MJ).
Within BIO4A, pilot cultivations in Spain and Italy were performed by Camelina Company España and RE-CORD, and the potential benefits in terms of GHG reduction were calculated by CENER under experimental and optimised conditions, in a larger scale approach and using the REDII-IR formula.
The GHG savings can be as high as 107%-128% under optimal conditions. This result also offers to farmers and stakeholders an opportunity to expand the feedstock base for Sustainable Aviation Fuel production.
New types of lysimeters were also designed, built, and operated in brand new climatic chambers, to replicate environmental conditions and assess mass, water and nutrient balances in very controlled conditions.
Different Camelina varieties were studied, to select the most performing ones for the given harsh conditions.
Finally, EC JRC assessed the potential application of the BIO4A solution to the EU MED region, where more than 8.5 Mha are under marginalization and desertification. JRC concluded that a significant production potential exists in Spain, Italy and Greece.
In November 2022 ENI achieved the target production of 1,000t of HEFA, for the Bio4A project.
The Gela biorefinery produced the HVO using Eni’s Ecofining™technology, developed in collaboration with Honeywell-UOP, which enables the production of high quality biofuels from a range of biogenic feedstock, including waste and residue raw materials, from vegetable oils to animal fats, used cooking oils and even algal oils.
The production of HEFA in Livorno allowed Eni to produce 1,000 t of HEFA without using third party’s facilities, therefore with full control on the process and guarantee of quality of the product. The quality of the resulting HEFA complies with the required ASTM aviation fuel standards. The proposed configuration, integrating Gela bio-refinery and Livorno traditional refinery through the refurbishment of an idle naphtha fractionation column, has been an innovation by itself in Eni’s operations and it facilitates the potential industrial scalability of the solution.
After the distillation in Livorno, Eni delivered the final product to the off-taker in the Netherlands, for the blending and final distribution of ASTM certified Jet A1 fuel. This brand new configuration proved an industrial choice in line with Eni's decarbonization strategy which transforms traditional sites into sites to produce new low-carbon footprint energy vectors/fuels such as HEFA Biojet.
In this regard, in October 2022 ENI officially announced a study for the possible realization of a new biorefinery at the existing industrial site of Livorno. The feasibility study foresees the construction of three new plants for the production of hydrogenated biofuels, including a 500ktons/y Ecofining™ plant, a pre-treatment unit for biogenic charges and a hydrogen production plant. The construction of the new biorefinery would enable the maximization of synergies with the existing infrastructures available on site and would generate new business and job opportunities for the Livorno refinery. This is in line with the company's announced roadmap to achieve the production target of 550 kt/y of SAF by 2030.
BIO4A has opened a new pathway to SAF production, both in terms of industrial capacity and innovative approach to feedstock supply for HEFA. Most of research work lies on the agronomic side: the use of biochar and compost, the cultivation of Camelina varieties, the selection of crop rotation and, above all, the means to recover degraded land need further research and value chain optimization.
The Gela biorefinery produced the HVO using Eni’s Ecofining™technology, developed in collaboration with Honeywell-UOP, which enables the production of high quality biofuels from a range of biogenic feedstock, including waste and residue raw materials, from vegetable oils to animal fats, used cooking oils and even algal oils.
The production of HEFA in Livorno allowed Eni to produce 1,000 t of HEFA without using third party’s facilities, therefore with full control on the process and guarantee of quality of the product. The quality of the resulting HEFA complies with the required ASTM aviation fuel standards. The proposed configuration, integrating Gela bio-refinery and Livorno traditional refinery through the refurbishment of an idle naphtha fractionation column, has been an innovation by itself in Eni’s operations and it facilitates the potential industrial scalability of the solution.
After the distillation in Livorno, Eni delivered the final product to the off-taker in the Netherlands, for the blending and final distribution of ASTM certified Jet A1 fuel. This brand new configuration proved an industrial choice in line with Eni's decarbonization strategy which transforms traditional sites into sites to produce new low-carbon footprint energy vectors/fuels such as HEFA Biojet.
In this regard, in October 2022 ENI officially announced a study for the possible realization of a new biorefinery at the existing industrial site of Livorno. The feasibility study foresees the construction of three new plants for the production of hydrogenated biofuels, including a 500ktons/y Ecofining™ plant, a pre-treatment unit for biogenic charges and a hydrogen production plant. The construction of the new biorefinery would enable the maximization of synergies with the existing infrastructures available on site and would generate new business and job opportunities for the Livorno refinery. This is in line with the company's announced roadmap to achieve the production target of 550 kt/y of SAF by 2030.
BIO4A has opened a new pathway to SAF production, both in terms of industrial capacity and innovative approach to feedstock supply for HEFA. Most of research work lies on the agronomic side: the use of biochar and compost, the cultivation of Camelina varieties, the selection of crop rotation and, above all, the means to recover degraded land need further research and value chain optimization.