Type of action
Research & Innovation Action
Project Duration
48 months
(January 2026 – December 2029)
Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking contribution
€4,049,361
About SAFphyre
The Challenge
Aviation is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise. It produces around 165 million tonnes of CO₂ per year in Europe alone, and long-haul flights cannot be electrified with current battery technology. The EU’s ReFuelEU Aviation regulation requires a minimum 70% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blend by 2050, including at least 35% synthetic e-SAF — yet today SAF accounts for under 1% of aviation fuel use, and global e-SAF production capacity remains at only a fraction of what the mandate requires.
Our Solution
SAFphyre converts renewable electricity, water, and captured CO₂ directly into SAF through an integrated electrochemical and catalytic process, creating an efficient, scalable route to e-SAF that does not depend on constrained waste feedstocks.
Solid Oxide Co-Electrolysis (co-SOE)
- Splits H₂O and CO₂ simultaneously in a single high-temperature electrochemical step.
- Operates at 700–900°C, enabling lower electrical energy input than room-temperature electrolysis.
- Produces an adjustable H₂:CO syngas ratio, tunable for different downstream fuel targets.
- Targets a degradation rate of 0.8 voltage%/khr at 750°C through next-generation cell designs.
Integrated Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis
Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Catalytic conversion of syngas into jet-range (C8–C16) hydrocarbons, fully drop-in compatible with existing aircraft and infrastructure.
Other Synthetic Fuels & Chemicals: The same coupled process can target methane, methanol, diesel-range fuels, and waxes — SAFphyre is evaluating 30+ use cases across these product families to support broader e-fuels market diversification.
Impact
SAFphyre addresses critical decarbonisation challenges across multiple parts of the value chain:
Aviation & Climate
Aviation is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise, producing 165 million tonnes of CO₂ annually in Europe. SAFphyre’s co-SOE + FT route targets >90% lifecycle GHG savings versus fossil jet fuel, supporting the EU’s 2050 mandate of 70% SAF, including 35% synthetic fuel.
Clean Hydrogen & Power-to-X
The EU has committed over €1 billion to scaling green hydrogen production through mechanisms like the EU Hydrogen Bank. SAFphyre creates direct downstream demand for that hydrogen, converting it — together with captured CO₂ — into a higher-value synthetic fuel product via a single integrated process.
European Chemicals Industry
By demonstrating a scalable, efficient route from renewable electricity and CO₂ to synthetic fuels and chemicals, SAFphyre supports the broader sustainability and circularity of the European chemicals industry, reducing reliance on fossil feedstocks across multiple downstream product lines.
Our Approach
SAFphyre brings together leading research institutes and industrial partners to:
- Develop and validate next-generation solid oxide cells through multi-scale modelling and short-stack durability testing.
- Demonstrate integrated co-SOE + Fischer-Tropsch operation at 25 kWe scale, over 4,000+ hours of steady-state and dynamic operation.
- Model thermal integration between the two processes, capturing FT reactor heat to reduce co-SOE electrical energy demand.
- Quantify the techno-economic and life cycle case for industrial-scale (100+ MW) deployment.
- Define and evaluate 30+ replicable use cases across typical European energy and CO₂ source scenarios.
- Build a credible, evidence-based pathway from demonstration to commercial deployment.
Through this integrated approach, SAFphyre demonstrates that co-electrolysis and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis can be coupled efficiently — converting renewable electricity, water, and captured CO₂ into sustainable aviation fuel, while opening pathways to other synthetic fuels and chemicals critical to Europe’s industrial decarbonisation.