NextChem awarded feasibility study for sustainable aviation fuel project in Indonesia

Maire announced Aug. 5 that its subsidiary NextChem has been awarded a feasibility study along with PT Tripatra Engineers and Constructors for a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project located in Sei Mangkei, Indonesia.

The agreement includes the joint development of a small-scale modular SAF plant.

The facility will be fed by regionally sourced feedstock, such as used cooking oil and palm-oil mill effluent (POME), with a production capacity of 60,000 tons per year.

The first step of the collaboration envisages a feasibility study to evaluate the optimal design and configuration for the plant based on NextChem’s proprietary technologies.

NextChem offers a fully integrated package that includes the NX PTU™ technology, the hydrogen production unit, and the NX SAFTM Bio technology, a hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) proprietary process for “a complete and smooth project deployment for SAF production,” Maire stated.

This process uses second-generation vegetable oils and residual fats, which are pretreated through the NX PTU™ technology.

The purified feedstock is then refined into SAF using hydrogen through NX SAFTM Bio technology, which allows to produce an ultra-low carbon SAF able to reduce aviation emissions by up to 95 percent compared with the use of fossil fuels, according to Maire.

“The high-level of standardization, coupled with a modular and compact design of the technology, allows a fast project execution and makes it ideal for small-scale plants in any geography,” Maire stated.

Alessandro Bernini, the CEO of Maire, said, “This agreement is a testament of our commitment to leading the energy transition with state-of-the-art technologies and end-to-end solutions. Maire is effectively able to decarbonize high-impact sectors such as aviation by leveraging on its integrated approach ranging from project development to full execution capabilities.”