Metafuels secures Dutch government grant to advance Rotterdam eSAF project

Metafuels announced April 1 that its Dutch subsidiary, Metafuels Nederland B.V., has been awarded a 1.92-million-euro (USD$2.23 million) grant.  

The grant comes from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) under the TSE Industry Studies-Hydrogen & Green Chemistry program (GroenvermogenNL), supporting the continued development of its Turbe synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) project in the Port of Rotterdam. 

The grant will support critical project-development activities through to final-investment decision (FID), including front-end engineering and design (FEED), permitting and consents, and commercial development.  

The Turbe project is being developed by Metafuels Nederland B.V. and will be located at the Evos terminal in the Port of Rotterdam. 

The company said the award recognizes the strength of Metafuels’ proprietary methanol-to-jet technology, Aerobrew, and its potential to deliver scalable, cost-competitive eSAF aligned with Dutch and European climate objectives. 

Turbe will be the first commercial deployment of Metafuels’ Aerobrew technology and a blueprint for future large-scale facilities.  

The project is targeting production from 2030 onwards, in line with the introduction of eSAF submandates under ReFuelEU aviation. 

Located at Evos Rotterdam, the project benefits from access to established methanol infrastructure, multimodal logistics and a highly skilled industrial workforce—key enablers for scaling synthetic-fuel production in Europe.  

The development aligns closely with the Port of Rotterdam’s ambition to transform into a leading hub for low-carbon fuels and energy-transition infrastructure. 

Metafuels said the grant comes at a pivotal moment for the company as it transitions from technology development to commercial-scale deployment.  

In recent months, the company has achieved a series of major milestones: 

• $24 million funding round led by UVC Partners, with participation from Energy Impact Partners, Contrarian Ventures, RockCreek, Verve Ventures and Fortescue Ventures, supporting the scale-up of its technology and project pipeline.  

• Award of FEED contract to McDermott Netherlands for the Turbe facility, marking a critical step towards FID and industrial execution.  

• Installation of its methanol-to-jet demonstration plant at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, now preparing for operation. 

• Expansion of its European project footprint, including development activities in the Netherlands and Denmark.  

According to Metafuels, together these milestones position the company at the forefront of Europe’s emerging eSAF industry with a clear pathway from demonstration to first-of-a-kind commercial plants and beyond.  

Metafuels’ approach centers on the methanol-to-jet pathway, which converts renewable methanol into drop-in jet fuel compatible with existing aircraft and infrastructure.  

“Unlike conventional SAF pathways reliant on limited feedstocks such as waste oils, methanol-based eSAF offers a highly scalable route to meeting long-term aviation demand,” the company stated. “When produced using renewable electricity, green hydrogen and captured carbon, it can deliver up to 90 percent lower lifecycle emissions compared to fossil kerosene. Metafuels’ Aerobrew technology is designed for cost leadership, achieving high conversion efficiency and enabling more competitive production economics at scale. As regulatory frameworks such as ReFuelEU aviation drive rapid growth in SAF demand from 2030 onwards, scalable synthetic-fuel pathways will be essential to meeting both climate targets and aviation’s long-term growth.”  

Metafuels CEO Saurabh Kapoor said, “Securing this support from RVO is a strong validation of both our technology and our approach to scaling eSAF production, and the merits of the Turbe project. Rotterdam is one of Europe’s most important energy and industrial hubs, and an ideal location to deliver large-scale synthetic-fuel projects. This grant enables us to accelerate Turbe towards FID and make commercial eSAF production in Europe a reality.” 

RVO helps entrepreneurs and organizations to invest, develop and expand their businesses and projects both in the Netherlands and abroad.  

It is a government agency that is part of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.