Aviation needs more pathways
Scaling the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and electro-SAF (eSAF) remains a major aviation challenge, but momentum is growing. ASTM International, the leading body for testing and qualifying fuels, recently approved Honeywell UOP’s methanol-to-jet (MTJ) pathway, marking a key milestone toward broader adoption.
Demand for low-carbon aviation fuel continues to rise. Total SAF production will need to rise from approximately 40,000 barrels per steam day (BPSD) in 2025 to an estimated 400,000 BPSD in 2035 to meet global mandates. Growth will depend on expanding the constrained set of traditional feedstocks like vegetable oils and animal fats in use today. Meeting demand will require new, scalable pathways, and MTJ is now positioned to help expand feedstock options and speed commercial-scale production.
What is MTJ and why it’s gaining momentum
The MTJ process is straightforward: methanol— produced remotely or on-site— is fed into a Honeywell UOP eFining™ unit, where it is upgraded into SAF or eSAF with high yield and selectivity. The technology is efficient, resulting in high-yield SAF production at a lower cost relative to comparable technologies. Honeywell UOP eFining can also reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 88% compared to conventional jet fuel1.
A key advantage of the MTJ pathway is flexibility. Methanol can be produced from captured CO₂ and renewable hydrogen, or from biomass-derived syngas, expanding feedstock access beyond traditional SAF inputs. Together with Honeywell UOP’s decades of methanol processing experience, these capabilities signal a broader shift: the market is moving from early validation toward commercialization.
Why it matters for customers and developers
For refiners and project developers, MTJ introduces:
- More optionality: Broader feedstock access helps reduce supply bottlenecks
- Improved site viability: Projects can align with locally available CO₂, hydrogen and renewable power
- Increased confidence: Proven, scalable technologies support progress from early design to final investment decisions
The result is faster time to market and lower execution risk in a rapidly evolving SAF market.
From pilot to deployment
Commercial momentum is already taking shape.
Verso Energy announced plans to deploy eFining across seven SAF production sites in Europe and the United States, using a standardized design to accelerate scale and reduce costs.
Jilin Connell in China will use eFining to develop one of the world’s largest single-site MTJ facilities by leveraging its existing methanol-to-olefins (MTO) process, with annual SAF production capacity of 280,000 metric tons.
Power2X will use eFining in its Port of Rotterdam facility – a large-scale production and storage hub for ultra-low carbon fuels – to convert renewable methanol into 250,000 tons per year of low-carbon jet fuel.
Enabling scale: renewable methanol, eFining and a growing SAF ecosystem
For refiners and developers, the MTJ pathway supports modular, scalable plant designs and can operate on its own or connect with upstream CO₂-to-methanol production, giving projects more flexibility across different regions.
This integration is what allows MTJ to scale. By separating feedstock production from fuel conversion, developers can improve flexibility and economics. MTJ adds resilience by expanding feedstock access, enabling new project types and supporting global production growth.
With process technologies like Honeywell UOP eFining helping bring these projects to life, the SAF ecosystem is becoming more flexible, more scalable and better positioned to meet long-term demand.
1 Reduced GHG emissions is based on UOP carbon intensity analysis, derived from a 3rd-party study of methanol production from green hydrogen and CO2 captured from biomass processing, in comparison to fossil fuels.
