Topsoe secures funding from Danish Energy Agency program for FrontFuel eSAF project

Topsoe, a global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies, has received 26.9 million Danish kroner (USD$3.94 million) from the Danish Energy Agency’s Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP) for the FrontFuel sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project.

The FrontFuel project is the first of its kind, according to Topsoe, and will use carbon dioxide and renewable energy to produce a synthetic crude to demonstrate the value chain of SAF using Topsoe technology.

The FrontFuel project will operate in close collaboration with Sasol, a global chemicals and energy company that specializes in Fischer-Tropsch technology essential for SAF production, and Aarhus University, Denmark, where the production facility will be located.

“The FrontFuel project is an exciting step forward to commercialize new technologies for the production of SAF and will make a meaningful contribution to helping decarbonization of the aviation sector,” said Kim Grøn Knudsen, chief strategy and innovation officer at Topsoe. “By working with our expert partners and with the support of EUDP, we are confident we can accelerate the journey towards commercial production of SAF.”

Decarbonizing the aviation sector poses some challenges, particularly due to high feedstock costs, scalability and the introduction of new efficient technologies.

To achieve a net-zero future in aviation, it is essential that alternative liquid drop-in fuel sources are available at scale.

The FrontFuel project will provide testing of an integrated process applicable for efficient SAF production, enabling faster market penetration and accelerating the green transition.

Using front-end SOEC technology with eREACT™, which is the syngas manufacturing, to feed the Sasol Fischer-Tropsch technology for syncrude production, FrontFuel will deliver the best-in-class method to SAF production from CO2, water and renewable electricity.