TotalEnergies, Masdar conduct test flight supporting e-SAF

TotalEnergies SE (EPA:TTE) on Wednesday announced the first test flight to showcase the potential of converting methanol to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which could help unlock the use of e-SAF to decarbonise aviation.

The flight was conducted in Dubai on the sidelines of COP28 and represents a collaborative effort between TotalEnergies and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC, or Masdar, as well as the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority, Airbus, Falcon Aviation Services and technology licensor Axens.

The French energy group explained that while the Alcohol-to-Jet Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene pathway (ATJ-SPK) has been certified in 2016, methanol is not in the list of specified alcohols. The flight aims to support the certification of SAF production from methanol, which can be derived from renewable electricity.

TotalEnergies chairman and chief executive Patrick Pouyanne expressed delight at working with Masdar on the next generation of clean aviation fuels that could complement SAF currently produced from used cooking oil. “This novel pathway to jet, through e-SAF, is critical to support the decarbonization of the aviation industry,” Pouyanne said.

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