Johnson Matthey (JM) has introduced that DG Fuels has chosen its award-winning Fischer Tropsch (FT) CANS™ expertise – co-developed with BP – for DG Fuels’ first sustainable aviation gasoline (SAF) plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana, US.

The plant can be the biggest deployment of FT CANS so far, seven occasions bigger than any beforehand introduced venture utilizing this expertise.

DG Fuels is an rising chief in renewable hydrogen and biogenic based mostly, artificial SAF and diesel gasoline. The proposed US$4 billion DG Fuels plant is deliberate to provide 600 000 tpy of SAF when absolutely operational and can be the biggest introduced SAF manufacturing plant utilizing a non-HEFA¹ route. DG Fuels is planning 10 extra SAF manufacturing vegetation throughout the US. These can be modelled on the Louisiana plant with JM and BP because the companions of alternative for these amenities.

The gasoline on the Louisiana plant is predicted to be produced from waste biomass. DG Fuels is projected to buy round US$120 million of sugar cane waste yearly, a 3rd of which is deliberate to be bought from St. James Parish farmers. JM and BP’s FT CANS expertise converts the synthesis fuel derived from this biomass to artificial crude, which is then additional processed to provide the artificial kerosene that’s then blended with typical jet gasoline to provide SAF.

Current worldwide certification for this SAF requires a mix of as much as 50% with fossil kerosene to create ‘drop-in SAF’. Based on a typical widebody plane gasoline consumption fee travelling the gap from London to New York, the plant’s deliberate SAF manufacturing capability, after mixing, is equal to the gasoline required for over 30 000 transatlantic flights yearly, equal to greater than 3% of annual visitors flying on that route at the moment.

The plant is predicted to start out manufacturing by 2028. DG Fuels has already secured offtake agreements with main airways, together with multi-year offers with each Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines. DG Fuels additionally has a strategic partnership with Airbus to assist make SAF out there at scale world wide.

Maurits van Tol, Chief Executive for Catalyst Technologies at Johnson Matthey, stated: “The size of this project is truly exciting and would help take the industry closer to wide-scale use of SAF. DG Fuels has ambitious plans and the fact it has secured agreements with major airlines demonstrates there is appetite in the market. Our FT CANS technology enables cost-effective deployment across a wide range of project sizes. We look forward to working with DG Fuels as a long-term partner for SAF production.”

Noemie Turner, VP Technology Development & Commercialisation at BP, stated: “The aviation industry is looking to greatly increase its use of SAF, and we’re proud that DG Fuels has selected our technology to be at the heart of their ambitious plans for large scale SAF production. Our FT CANS technology solution brings together decades of science and engineering expertise from BP and JM, and this project shows its competitiveness across the range of production scales and feedstock sources the industry needs. We’re excited to see the relationship with DG Fuels grow, and we look forward to seeing this project come to fruition.”

Christopher J. Chaput, President of DG Fuels, stated: “We are extremely excited to be moving forward with Johnson Matthey to execute our unique strategy of high carbon conversion. With this technology, we will create a product that is responsibly made and can be immediately substituted for conventional aviation fuel with no engine adaptations. This partnership is a significant boost to help the aviation industry reach its climate goals.”

Michael Darcy, CEO of DG Fuels, stated: “Using Johnson Matthey and bBP’s co-developed Fischer Tropsch (FT) CANS™ technology allows DG Fuels to scale SAF at high volume production and competitive prices for the first time ever. This innovation will take DG Fuels’ SAF from the sugar cane fields of Louisiana to cleaner skies all across the world.”