Imagine taking soggy food waste and using a two-step process to turn it into jet fuel. First, specialized microbes break down the waste into simple chemical building blocks. Then, these blocks are treated with heat and catalysts to create a high-energy liquid that planes can actually use.
Aviation requires high-energy-density liquid fuels, but producing carbon-neutral versions from wet organic waste is technically difficult and inefficient.
A proof-of-concept cascade process combining biological fermentation and hydrothermal gasification to produce jet-fuel hydrocarbons from food waste.
If you are a fuel supplier dealing with strict GHG emission targets for aircraft — this project developed a process to create drop-in biokerosene from organic waste. This allows for carbon-neutral fuel that fits existing engines without modification.
If you are a waste processor dealing with high-water content food waste that is hard to treat — this project developed a way to convert that wet matter into high-value platform chemicals and hydrogen. This turns a disposal cost into a revenue stream from fuel precursors.
If you are a food manufacturer dealing with large volumes of organic byproduct — this project developed a method to valorize these streams into jet-fuel range hydrocarbons. This helps the company reach carbon-neutral goals by recycling waste on-site or via partners.
Based on available project data, specific cost figures are not provided, but the project includes techno-economic requirements analysis for full market integration.
The project aims to reach a TRL level of 4, meaning it is currently at the proof-of-concept/lab validation stage and not yet ready for industrial scale.
Based on available project data, there is no specific information regarding licensing terms or patent filings for the new catalysts developed.
The process produces 'drop-in' biokerosene, which is designed to be compatible with current jet-fuel formulations and aviation infrastructure.
The project runs from 2022-11-01 to 2026-10-31, focusing on reaching TRL 4 by the end of the period.
The consortium consists of 6 partners from 4 countries (CH, DE, ES, FR). It is heavily weighted toward research, with 3 research organizations, 2 universities, and 1 other entity. Notably, there are 0 industrial partners and 0 SMEs, indicating the project is currently in a fundamental research and development phase rather than a commercialization phase.
Contact Fundacion IMDEA Energia in Spain
Contact us to find licensing opportunities for the TRL 4 catalysts.
