SAF plant will see largest deployment of Fischer Tropsch CANS technology

According to Johnson Matthey (JM), the plant would be the largest deployment of FT CANS to date at seven times larger than any previously announced project using FT CANS.

Washington, DC-based DG Fuels describes itself as an emerging leader in renewable hydrogen and biogenic based, synthetic SAF and diesel fuel. The company’s proposed $4bn plant is planned to produce 600,000MT of SAF annually when fully operational and would be the largest announced SAF production plant using a non-HEFA (Hydrotreated Esters and Fatty Acids) route.

The fuel at the Louisiana plant is expected to be produced from waste biomass and the that end DG Fuels is expected to purchase around $120m of sugar cane waste annually, a third of which is planned to be purchased from local farmers.

In a statement, Christopher J. Chaput, president of DG Fuels, said: “With this [FT CANS] technology, we will create a product that is responsibly made and can be immediately substituted for conventional aviation fuel with no engine adaptations. This partnership is a significant boost to help the aviation industry reach its climate goals.”

JM and bp’s FT CANS technology converts the synthesis gas derived from biomass to synthetic crude, which is then further processed to produce the synthetic kerosene that is blended with conventional jet fuel to produce SAF. Current international certification for this SAF requires a blend of up to 50 per cent with fossil kerosene to create so-called drop-in SAF.

Based on a typical widebody aircraft fuel consumption rate travelling from London to New York, the plant's planned SAF production capacity, after blending, is equivalent to the fuel required for over 30,000 transatlantic flights annually.

The plant is expected to start production by 2028 and DG Fuels has so far secured offtake agreements with airlines, including multi-year deals with Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines. DG Fuels also has a strategic partnership with Airbus to help make SAF available at scale globally.  

DG Fuels is planning 10 more SAF production plants across the United States that would be modelled on the Louisiana plant, with JM and bp as technology partners for these facilities.

Maurits van Tol, chief executive for catalyst technologies at Johnson Matthey, said: “The size of this project is truly exciting and would help take the industry closer to wide-scale use of SAF. DG Fuels has ambitious plans and the fact it has secured agreements with major airlines demonstrates there is appetite in the market. Our FT CANS technology enables cost-effective deployment across a wide range of project sizes. We look forward to working with DG Fuels as a long-term partner for SAF production.”