Honeywell, GranBio Technologies to produce carbon-neutral SAF from biomass residues

Using ethanol derived from forest biomass, jet fuel produced from Honeywell’s ETJ process can reduce GHG emissions to net zero.

Honeywell and GranBio Technologies announced Oct. 10 that they will combine Honeywell's ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) technology with GranBio’s cellulosic ethanol AVAP® technology to produce carbon-neutral sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from biomass residues at GranBio’s forthcoming U.S. demonstration plant.

GranBio’s patented AVAP process converts biomass, including forest and agricultural residues, to pure low-cost, low-carbon-intensity sugars, lignin and nanocellulose.

The cellulosic sugars are converted to both SAF through Honeywell’s ETJ technology and biochemicals through a separate process.

Using forest biomass-derived ethanol from the AVAP process, jet fuel produced from Honeywell’s ETJ process can reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions to net zero on a total lifecycle basis compared to petroleum-based jet fuel.

“Combining our biorefinery expertise with Honeywell experience in developing and scaling fuel technologies will help ensure SAF-supply goals, while supporting GranBio’s mission to provide integrated value-chain solutions throughout the world for net-zero SAF from biomass,” said Bernardo Gradin, GranBio CEO. “The AVAP technology has great potential, depending on feedstock and plant configuration to allow carbon-negative SAF with current lifecycle analysis. Plus, in addition to vast forest and agricultural residue available for feedstocks, there is an enormous potential to retrofit idle pulp-and-paper facilities in the U.S., revitalizing forestry value chains and rural manufacturing with great social, environmental and economic impact.”

Barry Glickman, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions, added, “GranBio’s low-carbon feedstock coupled with Honeywell’s SAF expertise will help decarbonize air travel. Our advanced ETJ process is ready now and builds upon Honeywell’s near 20 years’ experience in renewable fuels. Honeywell’s renewable fuels solutions, including ETJ, incorporate integrated, modular designs that enable producers like GranBio to build new SAF capacity more than a year faster than is possible with traditional-construction approaches.”

GranBio’s AVAP aims to enable worldwide net-zero SAF production by utilizing abundant, low-cost biomass feedstocks and diversification of income streams through value-added products beyond SAF, providing significant cost advantage compared to other SAF producers, according to Honeywell.

GranBio’s subsidiary AVAPCO was selected by the U.S. DOE to receive an $80 million grant to support the demonstration plant that will produce approximately 2 million gallons per year of SAF upon start up in 2026.

Honeywell now offers solutions across a range of feedstocks to meet the rapidly growing demand for renewable fuels, including SAF.

In addition to Honeywell UOP Ecofining™, Honeywell’s renewable fuels portfolio includes ETJ and the recently announced Honeywell UOP eFining™, which converts green hydrogen and carbon dioxide into eFuels.