Axens has launched the Ethanol to Refuel Aviation (ERA) project, France’s first industrial-scale Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production facility based on advanced bioethanol, marking a significant step in the country’s low-carbon aviation strategy.

Scheduled to begin operations in 2030, the plant will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 tonnes of SAF, with the site currently being selected in France.

The project will be developed by dedicated company Safiris and will use Axens and IFP Energies nouvelles’ (IFPEN) JETANOL technology, which converts advanced bioethanol from European biomass feedstocks into SAF and bio-naphtha.

The technology has already been adopted in several international Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ) projects due to its high yields and proven maturity.

The ERA project comes as demand for SAF accelerates, driven by European regulations including ReFuelEU Aviation, which requires increasing SAF blending levels and is expected to create demand for more than one million tonnes of SAF annually for flights departing France by 2035.

Axens said the facility will complement existing SAF production based on used cooking oils and animal fats while expanding feedstock options through advanced bioethanol.

The investment also supports France’s reindustrialisation and energy transition goals by creating a domestic SAF value chain, reducing reliance on imported fossil jet fuel, generating skilled jobs and contributing to aviation decarbonisation.

The aviation sector accounts for an estimated 2–3 per cent of global warming impacts.

ERA joins Axens’ broader portfolio of low-carbon industrial projects, including the NACRE advanced bioethanol plant and the MACARON battery materials facility, reinforcing the company's position as a leading technology provider in sustainable aviation fuels and clean mobility. -OGN/TradeArabia News Service