Global chemical process technology provider Axens, an IFP Group company, has announced the launch of the Ethanol to Refuel Aviation (ERA) project, the first French production unit for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) based on advanced bioethanol using its proprietary "Jetanol" ethanol-to-jet technology.
With a planned capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year, the facility—whose location in France is currently being selected—is scheduled to start operations in 2030.
The ERA project further reinforces Axens’ industrial commitment to the transition toward low-carbon mobility, alongside the NACRE project – an advanced bioethanol production at the Lacq site, which has obtained its construction permit – and the MACARON project – a battery materials production in Valenciennes, which has recently submitted its construction permit application.
Industrial milestone for French SAF industry
The growing demand for SAF from the aviation sector requires expanding production beyond current SAF pathways based on used cooking oils (UCO) and animal fats (the so-called HEFA route).
The ERA project will help meet this need by broadening access to new SAF sources derived from biomass residues, representing an important step toward strengthening the energy sovereignty of French and European air transport.
Currently in the engineering phase, the project will be carried out by a dedicated project company named SAFIRIS and is targeted to begin production in 2030.
It will leverage the Jetanol technology developed by Axens and IFPEN, which has been proven in various petrochemical applications and optimized to maximize SAF yields.
The facility’s capacity has been set at 50,000 tonnes per year of SAF production, using advanced ethanol sourced from European feedstocks.
An industrial response to a sovereignty challenge
France set SAF blending targets as early as 2020, and Europe subsequently reinforced and expanded this ambition through the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation. For flights departing from France, this translates into over 1 million tonnes of SAF per annum by 2035.
Such a target represents a significant opportunity to develop French and European SAF production value chains based on domestic resources and technologies, complementing existing SAF production from UCO and animal fats, as well as future e-SAF production.
With its broad portfolio of SAF production technologies developed in partnership with IFPEN, covering all major production pathways — HEFA (oils and fats), advanced biofuels (ethanol and lignocellulosic biomass), e-SAF (hydrogen and carbon dioxide), and now methanol-based pathways through the acquisition of Air Liquide’s Methanol-to-Olefins technology — Axens has established itself as a leading technology and industrial player in the SAF sector.
With ERA, we are leveraging the full breadth of our technological expertise and project management capabilities to build, in France, an industrial sustainable aviation fuel value chain based on French and European resources. This is a sovereignty project as much as it is an energy transition project, bringing together the agricultural and low-carbon chemicals ecosystems. ERA, which will demonstrate the superior performance of our Jetanol technology, will serve as a replicable model for France, Europe and the rest of the world, said Quentin Debuisschert, CEO of Axens.
