Methanol-to-jet (MTJ) fuel is nearing full approval for use in commercial aircraft, potentially opening a major new route for producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from renewable methanol.
The MTJ pathway has passed the key stages of the process by ASTM International, the industry body that approves new fuel for use in aircraft. Industry sources expect remaining formalities to be completed in coming weeks.
ASTM's committee recently approved Honeywell's MTJ pathway, the US-based technology provider said this week. This could unlock SAF production from feedstocks such as biomethanol and e-methanol, broadening supply beyond the waste oils and fats used in most SAF production.
But the development extends beyond Honeywell. Its technology and fuel samples were used in the qualification work, but the MTJ pathway would be available to all producers operating within the approved specification, when that is adopted by ASTM.
The MTJ pathway has passed balloting within ASTM and limited comments remain to be resolved, according to participants. They expect remaining approval steps to be completed at ASTM meetings in Chicago next week, paving the way to include the pathway the next time the organisation revises its D7566 aviation fuel standard.
ASTM was not immediately available to confirm the news.
The organisation typically confirms pathway approvals when it updates its standard. Honeywell expects the public update to come in July, Honeywell UOP president Rajesh Gattupalli told Argus.
New aviation fuel pathways must undergo extensive testing and review before they can be approved. The MTJ process has taken several years.
The approval removes one of the main technical barriers facing MTJ and allows the sector to focus on project economics and investment decisions. Until now, lack of ASTM approval has held companies back from taking commercial decisions.
"No bank is going to give you a loan without an ASTM certification. No government is going to give you an incentive without an ASTM certification," Gattupalli said. "You don't get an offtake from any airline company without an ASTM certification."
Honeywell has licensed its technology to multiple developers, which have been lining up offtake deals, financing, and incentives while waiting. ASTM approval allows them to "move to the next stage," Gattupalli said.
The licensor sees most MTJ traction in Europe, where mandates have been spurring demand for SAF, and in China and India, where producers can benefit from strong potential in renewables, he said.
Some companies plan to make biomethanol from biomass-derived syngas, while others eye e-methanol from renewable hydrogen and captured CO2. Some hybrid projects would make a mixture of both.
