Project description
Powering commercial flight with plant-based biomass derivatives
While global industries successfully seek to transition to clean electricity, the aviation sector still relies on liquid fossil fuels because batteries lack the extreme energy density required to power commercial flight. Despite the need for sustainable aviation fuels from biomass, current manufacturing methods fail to efficiently refine complex plant precursors or properly analyse the resulting fuel mixtures. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the GREENJET project will use mechanochemistry – a method that triggers chemical reactions through mechanical friction rather than using harsh solvents – to build optimised metal-organic framework catalysts. Utilising these green catalysts to transform plant derivatives into high-grade fuel under mild conditions, the proposed research aims to drastically cut production costs and accelerate the aviation industry’s shift towards carbon neutrality.
Objective
Despite global advances in the implementation of clean energy and the decoupling of the economy from fossil fuels, the electrification of the aviation sector remains challenging. As a result, the development of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) to reduce the carbon print of aviation has become a priority to achieve the decarbonization goals. However, most of the efforts dedicated to the production of very high energy density fuels for aviation overlook the hydrogenation of the complex SAFs precursors, or do not report the fuel properties of the resultant mixtures. The result is a knowledge gap in SAFs production that demands further research and scalable approaches for scalable industrial approaches.
In this context, the GREENJET project seeks to apply the advantages of mechanochemistry to develop green preparation methods of Metal-Organic-Frameworks (MOFs) optimized to act as catalysts for the complete transformation of biomass derivatives into SAFs, and to characterize the resulting fuel mixtures to assess their applicability as SAFs.
The focus on the optimization of mechanochemical methods for the preparation and activation of MOFs is expected to dramatically reduce the economic and environmental costs of MOFs, considered one of their major drawbacks. MOF properties will be optimized for the transformation of biomass derivatives (furfural, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, cyclopentanone) into SAF precursors via condensation. SAF precursor mixtures will be consequently hydrogenated in an optimized environment to obtain valuable SAFs under mild conditions. Moreover, the sustainability of the process will be monitored by Life Cycle Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis.
The GREENJET project expects to facilitate scalable methods by the integration of disciplines in material science, heterogeneous catalysis, green chemistry and renewable energy, which will contribute to the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology chemical engineering chemical process engineering
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
CV4 8UW COVENTRY
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.