Saurabh Kapoor | Chief Executive Officer
Interview given to Ms Maria Louisa Vafiadaki
-Please briefly introduce yourself and describe how you came up with Metafuels and decarbonization.
I’ve worked in the energy space throughout my career. The initial years were spent in the fossil energy sector (coal, oil and gas) but in 2008 based on my personal conviction, I decided to switch to decarbonization of energy systems. In the period up to 2020, I was active in the carbon capture and storage (CCS) space developing projects and supporting stakeholders in their decarbonization efforts. All these years, I and Metafuels’ other co-founders had an ambition to develop and commercialize our own technology for the decarbonization of aviation not least because of our own emissions footprint. However, we just didn’t have the time and bandwidth alongside our ongoing CCS activities. This changed in 2020 with Covid related shutdowns providing us with the time to realize our ambition. We did our homework looking at the market, incumbent technologies etc. and, developed specifications and targets for our technology. As we achieved progress, Metafuels was established and we have been busy executing ever since to achieve those targets.
-What was the main problem which intrigued you in inventing this new technology founding Metafuels and what is your main mission ?
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is expected to play a major role in decarbonization of the aviation sector. Looking at the market demand projections and reviewing incumbent technologies and technologies under development, we realized that there was a need for innovation to produce affordable e-SAF at large scale. We also recognized that biofuels expansion has limits as it requires diversion of food and feed crops for fuel production.
Our primary mission is to allow people to fly without feeling guilty while at the same time keeping it affordable.
-Please describe Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and why do you recommend it. What are the benefits compared to the way regular kerosene works. Is it suitable for all aviation companies ?
Traditionally, aircrafts use kerosene derived from oil refining as fuel. Every time we fly, kerosene is consumed and CO2, a greenhouse gas, is emitted to the atmosphere. This CO2 together with contrails (clouds produced by aircraft exhaust), contribute to global warming and ultimately to climate change.
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a term currently used for replacement fuels that are similar in properties to traditional kerosene but are produced from sustainable feedstocks, thereby allowing a reduction in CO2 emissions.
At a high level, we can classify SAF technologies into two pathways. The first one is biofuels, which involves conversion of crops to SAF. Most of SAF capacity today is biofuel-based .
The second pathway is synthetic SAF and that’s where we belong. In this pathway renewable electricity and not crops is the source of energy contained in SAF. Renewable electricity is used to electrolyze water and produce green hydrogen. This green hydrogen and sustainably sourced CO2 are the primary feedstocks for synthetic SAF technologies. The difference to biofuels is that the pathway is scalable and does not require diversion of food and feed crops to produce fuel. Other advantages include, potential for high CO2 reduction based on a life cycle assessment (LCA) and low water consumption. Metafuels’ target is to be the leader in the synthetic SAF space based on competitive cost of production and superior environmental performance.
SAF is a so-called “drop in” fuel meaning it can be blended with standard kerosene and is compatible with existing aircraft fueling infrastructure and operations. It also does not require re-engineering or re-purchase of aircraft which is a significant advantage for airlines. SAF can be used for all size and types of aircrafts. Currently SAF are allowed to be blended up to 50% with traditional kerosene. This will however evolve over the coming years to full replacement.
-Regarding regulation, what is on the horizon ? Is there legislation in the EU which makes SAF compulsory?
Aviation is a very international market and the response is different from country to country and region to region. In Europe, the approach is more regulation driven. The agreement reached under the ReFuelEU Aviation initiative mandates minimum SAF uplift at EU airports. This starts at 2% in 2025 and rises to a maximum of 70% by 2050. If you look at the US, the approach is based on incentives and tax credits, e.g., through the Inflation Reduction Act.
In an international context, the carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation (CORSIA) managed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is an attempt to develop a harmonized way to achieve aviation decarbonization.
-Can you briefly talk about Aerobrew technology and how it works.
Aerobrew is the brand name for our technology which uses renewable methanol (which in turn is produced from green hydrogen and sustainable CO2) as a feedstock and produces SAF with ultra-high yield and high efficiency. Our technology is highly scalable which, when combined with superior process performance, allows us to achieve industry leading cost of production. The other important aspect for sustainable fuels is the CO2 reduction achieved – here too the deployment of our technology allows a lifecycle CO2 emissions reduction of up to 90% to be achieved.
-Please name the 3 top reasons why aviation companies should adopt SAF practices.
1) SAF is a drop-in fuel and is compatible with existing aircrafts and airports infrastructure avoiding the need for development of new aircraft.
2) SAF is an energy dense fuel like traditional kerosene and is therefore vital for decarbonization of medium and long-haul flights which contribute to around 70% of aviation emissions.
3) CO2 emissions reduction of up to 90% are achievable through the deployment of SAF.
-How is the aviation market responding to SAF ?
The industry is generally supportive of the deployment and scale-up of the use of SAF as a means to decarbonize aviation. In addition to expanding SAF offtake, market participants are additionally supporting in different supplementary ways such as provision of funding for SAF technology development, shortening timelines for SAF accreditation processes, developments aimed at using SAF as a substitute fuel (up from current limits of up to 50% blending) etc.
Airlines are also making it easier for passengers to contribute to green flying by providing options through the booking process.
SAF consumption last year was only 0.5% of the jet fuel demand, which means there is a way to go. The momentum is however strong.
-What are the challenges and threats you have faced so far ? Is SAF a relatively expensive solution?
We are currently focused on validating our technology through the implementation and operation of a pilot plant in Switzerland. At the same time we are developing the first commercial projects which we will begin implementing once the pilot plant is operational. The challenges we have faced are those you would typically face as you develop and scale a new and innovative technology. We have however achieved good progress since we started our journey.
Fuel costs are a significant part of an airline’s cost. Figures vary depending upon prevailing prices and region but we can assume 30% as a representative level. This means that an increase in the fuel bill can significantly impact the bottom-line of airlines. It is for this reason that we adopted “cost of production leadership” as one of our primary technology targets.
SAF currently comes at a premium to prevailing kerosene costs but this premium is expected to shrink as technologies scale. Accordingly, technologies like ours which can combine superior performance with large-scale production plants have the potential to make affordable clean aviation a reality.
-What are your milestones for the near future ?
Our next key milestone is the installation and operation of a pilot plant deploying the aerobrew technology. The pilot plant which will be located in Switzerland will start with methanol as the feedstock and produce SAF. Our plan is to complete plant installation activities by the end of 2024 and commence operations early in 2025.
Our second target milestone is a final investment decision (FID) for the first field production project with a 10 t/day renewable SAF capacity. We are currently progressing development activities for this project and aim to take an FID in late 2025.
Thank you.
Interesting Figures on SAF:
*Aviation is responsible for around 2% of global CO2 emissions—some 800 million tonnes p.a. Metafuels’ technology has the ability to cut total life cycle emissions by up to 90%
*70% f jet fuel market expected to be SAF by 2050.
*SAF market size / 2030: 48 bn litre / 2035: 105 bn litre / 2050: 303 bn litre (IEA Data 2023)