Johnson Matthey, a global pioneer in sustainable technologies, has unveiled an innovative technology called HyCOgenTM that is designed to enable the conversion of captured carbon dioxide (CO2) and green hydrogen into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Johnson Matthey offers an integrated, scalable system for the efficient and cost-effective manufacture of renewable energy-based SAF by combining HyCOgen with the award-winning FT CANS Fischer Tropsch technology (developed in conjunction with bp).
HyCOgen is a catalyzed process that converts green hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO), which is then mixed with additional hydrogen to generate synthesis gas (syngas), a critical building component in the manufacturing of fuels and chemicals. Through the integration of the FT CANS technology, an end-to-end, optimized, and highly scalable process is created that converts over 95% of CO2 to high quality synthetic crude oil. This synthetic crude oil can be improved further to provide sustainable drop-in fuels such as aviation fuels, renewable diesel, and naphtha.
The integrated HyCOgen/FT CANS solution’s scalability enables cost-effective deployment across a broad range of project sizes – from small-scale hydrogen production using a single electrolyser to large-scale hydrogen production using numerous massive electrolyser modules.
Given that the global aviation industry accounts for 13% of transport-related CO2 emissions, significant manufacturing of low carbon intensity SAF is necessary to minimize emissions. Both the EU2 and US3 have ambitious plans for scaling up and blending, which is likely to dramatically boost SAF demand. Johnson Matthey’s HyCOgen solution, when combined with the FT CANS technology, has the potential to significantly boost the supply of SAF through its scalable production.
Jane Toogood, Sector Chief Executive, Johnson Matthey, commented: “Given the challenges associated with new propulsion technologies and airport infrastructure, plus the long asset life of aircraft, there are significant hurdles in moving from hydrocarbon-based aviation fuel to alternatives such as battery electric or hydrogen. This is where Johnson Matthey’s longstanding expertise and market-leading position in syngas generation technology can play a crucial role, by providing solutions that enable the production of sustainable drop-in fuels that are deployable today.
“By combining HyCOgen with FT CANS, we can now deliver customers a cost-efficient, reliable and scalable technology to help increase SAF production, backed by our track record of successful technology development and commercialisation.”
