HIF Global signs collaboration agreement with Airbus for sustainable aviation fuel

HIF Global announced July 23 the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Airbus to advance the global development of eFuels for aviation (eSAF) via the methanol-to-jet (MTJ) fuel pathway.

The MOU provides a framework for negotiation of definitive agreements in relation to four key workstreams: technical, project development, commercial and advocacy.

The collaboration was signed at the Farnborough Air Show in England, one of the most prestigious global aerospace, aviation and defense industry fairs.

“The International Energy Agency projects that aviation activity will double from 2022 levels by 2030,” said Clara Bowman, HIF Global’s chief operating officer.

“We are therefore in a global race to supply and scale up sustainable fuels to aviation, the hardest to abate of all the transportation sectors,” Bowman added. “Collaboration between HIF and Airbus will help accelerate the airline sector’s adoption of eSAF and facilitate the industry’s transition to net zero.”

eSAF is a type of sustainable aviation fuel made by combining recycled CO2 and green hydrogen produced with renewable electricity.

eSAF is a drop-in fuel that can be used in existing airplanes without any modifications to their engines.

HIF Global is designing eSAF production facilities based on MTJ synthesis.

In May 2023, HIF Global announced agreements with Johnson Matthey and Honeywell UOP to conduct preliminary engineering for HIF’s first eSAF facility in the United States.

“The name HIF represents the mission of the company—to provide Highly Innovative Fuels to make decarbonization of the planet possible,” the company stated.

HIF is producing eFuels today at its HIF Haru Oni eFuels facility in southern Chile and is developing commercial-scale eFuels facilities in Texas, Uruguay, Australia and Chile.