Sustainable technology group Johnson Matthey this week launched a new method for producing sustainable aviation fuel that it says will support more cost-efficient rates of production. Its Hycogen process, which is intended to be used in combination with FT CANS Fischer Tropsch technology, was developed jointly with BP to convert captured carbon dioxide and green hydrogen into aircraft fuel.
The company said the Fischer Tropsch technology has already been approved by the American Society of Testing and Materials, which has determined that an aviation fuel produced via the Fischer-Tropsch process can be blended up to a 50-percent mix with standard Jet A fuel. A spokesperson told AIN that the cost of the new SAF will be dependent on the cost of the green hydrogen used and the scale of output, with Johnson Matthey planning to license production to fuel manufacturers.
According to the company, the Hycogen reverse water gas shift technology is a catalyzed process that converts green hydrogen and CO2 into carbon monoxide, which is then combined with additional hydrogen to make a synthetic gas. The process converts 95 percent of the CO2 in synthetic crude oil that can then be made into SAF and other fuels.