Posted: 1st September, 2024
By Marco Ranocchiari – Leader of the Energy System Integration (ESI) Platform at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI)
Our collaboration with Metafuels is focused on accelerating the development of their aerobrew e-Sustainable Aviation Fuel (e-SAF) technology. In many ways we are in a race against time to bring this much needed technology to market.
PSI is Switzerland’s preeminent research institute, and through its Research Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) contributes world-class know-how on materials synthesis, catalysis, characterization, engineering, analytics, and life-cycle assessments.
A crucial step on the development pathway for aerobrew technology, is the implementation of a dedicated methanol-to-SAF plant at PSI to support scale-up bringing the technology closer to real-world application. This is being realised through PSI’s so-called ESI Platform, which collaborates with industry to bring novel technologies to market.
The ESI Platform focuses on the development of technologies centred on hydrogen and biomass conversion, and is ideally suited for e-fuel technology developments like aerobrew. The available facilities allow the combination of PSI’s fundamental research capabilities with its technical expertise, enabling technological testing, optimisation, and validation in a near-commercial setting.
We have made much progress since we started the collaboration in the depths of the Covid pandemic, when we had to get official permission for one of the co-founders to enter Switzerland for the first socially-distanced meeting. Since then, and buoyed by excellent results along the way, we have maintained a high pace of development as we now move to the demonstration phase.
As head of ESI, I am thrilled to be part of the journey from fundamental research to large-scale application.
The opportunity to work with Metafuels with their deep industry knowledge complementing our scientific expertise, will enable us to rapidly bring this e-SAF technology to market and meaningfully contribute to global decarbonization goals.
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