On Tuesday, Quebec clean energy company SAF+ Consortium announced one of the first production runs of the sustainable aviation fuel PtL (Power to Liquids) in North America. According to a company announcement, the fuel was produced in SAF+’s pilot factory, at the ParaChem industrial site, east of Montreal.
By 2025 or 2026, SAF+ is aiming to bring to market its synthetic kerosene formulation, whose carbon footprint is 80 percent compared to fossil kerosene. The PtL sector consists of producing a synthetic liquid fuel by capturing and combining CO2 from industrial sources to green hydrogen produced in Quebec.
“These first liters of e-fuel represent a historic moment and an important milestone for SAF+,” the company’s President and CEO Jean Paquin said on Tuesday.
“As the airline industry aims to reduce its carbon footprint and reduce kerosene consumption, SAF + stands out as a pioneer in the field of sustainable aviation fuel in Canada. For us, e-fuel is the way to go in the aviation industry if we want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially,” he added.
“The PtL path is one of the most promising for the decarbonization of sustainable fuels said,” SAF+ Consortium Head of Operations Alexandru Iordan. “By using green hydrogen, it accelerates the development of this important energy sector in the years to come.”
The announcement was also hailed by SAF+ Consortium corporate partners.
“Airbus is fully committed to the decarbonization of air transport and believes that Sustainable Aviation Fuels have the potential to become a major driver in reducing CO2 emissions in commercial aviation – for existing fleets and future. The SAF is a ready-to-use solution for the airline industry today. Our planes are already capable of integrating a mixture of up to 50% of SAF and our goal is to achieve 100% compatibility by 2030, knowing that these SAFs can today reduce emissions by 80% of CO2 (over the life cycle) and be close in the future to 100% with e-fuels produced with green hydrogen and carbon capture,” said Steven Le Moing, head of the New Energies program at aircraft maker Airbus.
“We are very happy to support this structuring initiative for Montreal since the beginning. The Consortium is now taking a first-rate milestone that will lead to a concrete sustainable aviation fuel solution, that we will be the first user of when it goes to market. We strongly believe in the future of SAF because, at present, it is one of the most promising ways to reduce our carbon emissions and we must accelerate its development. We are staying the course on our strong and lasting commitment to minimize our impact on climate change”, said Jean-François Lemay, President and CEO of Air Transat.
“These first steps allow us to position Quebec as one of the leaders in a green and sustainable recovery. By capturing the CO2 that would have been released into the atmosphere to give it a second use, we confirm the ecosystem’s desire to be bold and creative to accelerate our transition to more sustainable aerospace industry. We are also helping to create a pool of innovative and unprecedented jobs for the next generation of workers”, said Suzanne Benoît, President and CEO of Aéro Montréal.
“ADM is committed to working actively with its partners to support initiatives that help to reduce the environmental impact of aviation activities and that promote Quebec know-how internationally. As a member of the consortium, our organization is proud to support this innovative CO2-based clean fuel technology. This first delivery lets us predict the start of a small and most positive revolution in the industry”, said Martin Massé, Vice-President, Sustainable Development at ADM Aéroports of Montréal.
