MB Energy, Metafuels strengthen collaboration to advance European eSAF value chain
MB Energy announced Sept. 10 that it and Metafuels are entering a collaboration to take electro sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) from production all the way to the wing.
The agreements, signed at the opening of Metafuels’ demonstration plant in Switzerland, strengthen the European eSAF value chain and support the development of a resilient and independent supply chain, beginning with Metafuels’ Turbe project in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Together, Metafuels and MB Energy will work across market access, blending, infrastructure and logistics, including certification and information flow for eSAF deployment.
The collaboration is intended to close the infrastructure gap, developing the solutions needed to take fuel from production all the way to the plane.
In addition, under a proposed methanol arrangement, MB Energy would also be a potential supplier of methanol feedstock.
Metafuels’ technology converts methanol produced from renewable feedstocks into future-oriented aviation fuel.
For Metafuels, the collaboration forms part of its wider development of its supply chain ahead of Turbe’s launch in 2030, a chain intended to be fully independent, resilient to global events affecting SAF supply and built on partnerships across feedstock, logistics and delivery.
MB Energy said it sees the collaboration as an opportunity to contribute its global trading, logistics, infrastructure and certification capabilities, and to scale up new eSAF supply pathways.
“This is a major step towards getting eSAF into plane wings,” said Philipp Kroepels, the director of new energy at MB Energy. “Reducing the carbon intensity of aviation fuels will require strong partnerships that connect innovative technologies, renewable molecules, reliable infrastructure and customer access. The energy transition is a long-term endeavor, and meaningful progress will be achieved through collaboration and shared commitment across the entire value chain. We’re excited to partner with Metafuels on this mission.”
The agreements demonstrate momentum, MB Energy stated, with both companies recognizing the need to develop new solutions to achieve large-scale adoption of synthetic aviation fuel.
As well as regulatory certainty, the development of end-to-end infrastructure and transport solutions capable of delivering blended, certified eSAF to the wing is key, MB Energy said.
With this initiative, MB Energy said it and Metafuels will establish just such a solution.
“With the opening of our demonstration plant, the world’s first methanol-to-jet facility, we are translating innovation into an industrial solution for aviation,” said Matthias Schnellmann, Metafuels’ vice president of commercial. “Scaling eSAF is a supply-chain challenge as much as a technology one. We look forward to our important work together to bring eSAF to market with MB Energy.”
