Rueil-Malmaison, France: The industrial mid-sized company is strengthening its position as a leading player in Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and embarking on a new phase in support of France’s energy sovereignty and reindustrialization.
Axens announces the launch of the ERA project (Ethanol to Refuel Aviation), the first French production unit for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) based on advanced bioethanol. With a planned capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year, the facility—whose location in France is currently being selected—is scheduled to start operations in 2030, according to a press release.
The ERA project further reinforces Axens’ industrial commitment to the transition toward low-carbon mobility, alongside the NACRE project (advanced bioethanol production at the Lacq site, which has obtained its construction permit) and the MACARON project (battery materials production in Valenciennes, which has recently submitted its construction permit application).
ERA Project: An Industrial Milestone for the Development of a French SAF Industry
The growing demand for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from the aviation sector requires the expansion of production beyond current SAF pathways based on used cooking oils and animal fats (the so-called HEFA route). The ERA project will help meet this need by broadening access to new SAF sources derived from biomass residues, representing an important step toward strengthening the energy sovereignty of French and European air transport.
Currently in the engineering phase, the project will be carried out by a dedicated project company named SAFIRIS and is targeted to begin production in 2030.
It will leverage the Jetanol™ technology developed by Axens and IFPEN, which has been proven in various petrochemical applications and optimized to maximize SAF yields.
The facility’s capacity has been set at 50,000 tonnes per year of SAF production, using advanced ethanol sourced from European feedstocks.
An industrial response to a sovereignty challenge
France set SAF blending targets as early as 2020, and Europe subsequently reinforced and expanded this ambition through the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, which requires the incorporation of more than 1 Mt/year of SAF for flights departing from France by 2035. Such a target represents a significant opportunity to develop French and European SAF production value chains based on domestic resources and technologies, complementing existing SAF production from used cooking oils and animal fats, as well as future e-SAF production.
“With ERA, we are leveraging the full breadth of our technological expertise and project management capabilities to build, in France, an industrial sustainable aviation fuel value chain based on French and European resources. This is a sovereignty project as much as it is an energy transition project, bringing together the agricultural and low-carbon chemicals ecosystems. ERA, which will demonstrate the superior performance of our Jetanol™ technology, will serve as a replicable model for France, Europe and the rest of the world” said Quentin Debuisschert, CEO of Axens.
A Showcase of French Reindustrialization
The ERA project is fully aligned with the reindustrialization and energy transition ambitions promoted by France and the European Union:
• Creation of a new industrial value chain based on the use of local resources
• Reduced dependence on imports of fossil jet fuel and SAF
• Direct contribution to the decarbonization of the aviation sector, which is estimated to account for around 2–3% of global warming impacts
• Creation of direct jobs at the production site, alongside indirect employment opportunities linked to the advanced ethanol value chain
Axens is currently evaluating several potential sites in France and is finalizing an industrial and financial partnership within Safiris.
JETANOL™ Technology: A Proven Process Developed by Axens and IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN)
JETANOL™ technology, jointly developed by Axens and IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN), converts bioethanol into Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and bio-naphtha. The process is based on three integrated steps: dehydration, oligomerization, and hydrogenation.
JETANOL™ technology has been selected by several major international projects seeking to implement the Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ) pathway, thanks to its high yields and technological maturity.
With its broad portfolio of SAF production technologies developed in partnership with IFPEN, covering all major production pathways — HEFA (oils and fats), advanced biofuels (ethanol and lignocellulosic biomass), e-SAF (hydrogen + CO₂), and now methanol-based pathways through the acquisition of Air Liquide’s Methanol-to-Olefins technology — Axens has established itself as a leading technology and industrial player in the sustainable aviation fuels sector.
France, a pioneer in the development of SAF, possesses all the necessary assets to build a sovereign sustainable aviation fuel industry:
• A world-class aerospace industry
• A broad portfolio of SAF production technologies, notably developed by Axens and IFPEN
• Abundant agricultural and forestry resources enabling, among other things, the production of advanced bioethanol
• A largely decarbonized electricity mix
• An ambitious European regulatory framework through the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation, which mandates an increasing share of SAF in aviation fuels supplied in Europe — reaching 6% by 2030 and up to 70% by 2050
Through the ERA project, Axens aims to demonstrate all the key success factors required for an industrial project producing new low-carbon molecules and to share this experience with its licensees.
