Norsk e-Fuel targets SAF production by 2026

Norsk e-Fuel announced that it has finalised SMS group subsidiary Paul Wurth to carry out front-end engineering and design study for Alpha Plant, the company’s first production site for e-fuels, which will convert water and CO2 into sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF).

The construction on Alpha Plant will begin in 2024 and is expected to start full-scale production in 2026.

“With confidence we can now say that we have the best technology set-up not only for now, but also for the future. The partnership with Paul Wurth (SMS group) and Axens in combination with the access to the technologies of our shareholders Sunfire and Climeworks will allow us at Norsk e-Fuel to always rely on the best technology available on the market,” said Karl Hauptmeier, CEO, Norsk e-Fuel.

Norsk e-Fuel, launched in 2019, aims to set-up a reverse-water-gas-shift (RWGS), a Fischer-Tropsch unit and an upgrading unit. The company will also integrate a co-electrolysis (Co-SOC) unit.

“The project with Norsk e-Fuel gives us the opportunity to actively demonstrate this ambition in the area of synthetic fuels production,” said Thomas Hansmann, CTO, SMS group.

The company has already entered into an SAF sale agreement with Norwegian. In addition, Norwegian will also invest more than NOK 50m (US$ 4.8m) for a minority equity stake in the company.

The announcement comes at a time when Norway is looking to support SAF production from feedstocks other than used cooking oil and animal fats.

There are several industry initiatives in Norway for production of SAF from new pathways and production processes.

Norway has been an early mover when it comes to use of SAF. In 2016 Oslo Airport became the first hub in the world to blend SAF into the fuel infrastructure at the airport and in 2020 Norway became the first country with an effective mandate for SAF.