From RenewEconomy
British synthetic fuels developer Zero Petroleum is exploring the possibility of building a low-carbon sustainable aviation fuel production facility in the South Australian city of Whyalla, in collaboration with Qantas Airways.
The feasibility study is expected to take six months and will evaluate the technical, economic, and environmental viability of a facility which would be capable of producing up to 10 million litres of synthetic aviation fuel, gasoline, and diesel each year.
It will seek to tap into the state’s huge wind and solar resources – which already account for around 75 per cent of annual demand, and which are expected to reach 100 per cent net renewables by 2027 – and its emerging green hydrogen production facilities in the same city.
Zero Petroleum was founded in 2020 by former F1 racing engineer and executive Paddy Lowe and subject expert Nilay Shah, a professor of process systems engineering at Imperial College London.
Their company has developed and manufactures whole-blend and 100% fossil free synthetic fuels – including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel – through a process utilising direct air capture (DAC) carbon dioxide and hydrogen from water electrolysis, all powered by renewable energy.
This is designed to create fuels which are intended for use in an array of hard-to-abate sectors – including the aviation industry and motor racing series such as Formula 1.
DAC is the process whereby CO2 is extracted from the atmosphere. DAC is expensive, costing over $1000/tonne, although as its usage increases, and learning curve effects strengthen, it is likely to fall in cost. DAC may be the right way to go for removing CO2 from the atmosphere, but it is prolly not the best way to make synthetic hydrocarbons. The process used by Prometheus Fuels will (if it works) be much cheaper. We are just at the beginning of learning how to make carbon-neutral fuels, so it makes sense to try several technological possibilities, to see which works best and which is the cheapest. We shall see which process wins out.
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