Imagine using tiny water plants to eat CO2 and breathe out a gas that can be turned into jet fuel. Instead of expensive farming and squeezing oil from algae, this method lets the fuel precursor simply evaporate from the cells. To make it even better, the leftover plant material is turned into food thickeners and hydrogen gas so nothing goes to waste.
Sustainable aviation fuels are currently too expensive and inefficient to produce at scale. Traditional algal fuels require costly harvesting and drying processes that make them commercially unviable.
A production process for isoprene (a fuel precursor) using cyanobacteria and a solar-driven photochemical upgrade system to create jet fuel molecules.
If you are a fuel supplier dealing with strict carbon emission mandates — this project developed a way to produce jet fuel from CO2 that avoids expensive harvesting and drying steps. This reduces the overall cost of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
If you are a food company dealing with the need for sustainable additives — this project developed a zero-waste biorefinery that co-produces starch from micro-algae. This starch can be used as a thickener or filler in food products.
If you are a gas producer dealing with the high cost of green hydrogen — this project developed a system that co-produces hydrogen indirectly from CO2. This allows for a diversified revenue stream alongside fuel production.
It produces a volatile precursor called isoprene, which eliminates the need for expensive downstream processing like harvesting, drying, and lipid extraction.
The project has demonstrated a productivity of >50 mg isoprene L-1 day-1 at lab scale (TRL 4) and aims to reach TRL 5 through pilot scale trials.
Based on available project data, specific patent or licensing terms are not listed, but the project involves 14 partners including 6 industrial entities.
The produced molecules are evaluated against ASTM standards to ensure they meet aviation requirements.
The project runs from 2024-01-01 to 2027-12-31, targeting a TRL 5 pilot scale by the end of the period.
The project is highly market-oriented with a 43% industry ratio, comprising 6 industrial partners and 5 SMEs. With 14 partners across 8 European countries, the consortium balances academic research (6 universities, 2 research centers) with practical application, ensuring the technology is developed with end-user requirements in mind.
Contact RISE Processum AB in Sweden
Contact us to connect with the ALFAFUELS consortium for licensing and pilot opportunities.
