This demonstration line utilized Aether’s 2.5 barrel-per-day capacity Aether Aurora Tri-Converter and Aurora Upgrader units, integrated together with RTI’s existing Fischer-Tropsch reactor. The fuel was produced using mass-balanced renewable natural gas (RNG) derived from landfill gas generated in Kentucky and industrial CO2 as feedstocks and included the complete conversion process from waste-derived gas feedstocks to fully upgraded synthetic liquid jet fuel. Aether is believed to be the first company in North America to produce ASTM-specification synthetic aviation fuel from mass-balanced RNG and captured industrial CO2 at this scale.
Independent third-party testing conducted by AmSpec confirmed that the fuel samples produced during this demo run met the applicable ASTM specifications for FT-SPK (Annex A1 for Fischer-Tropsch Synthesized Paraffinic Kerosene (FT-SPK)). Under the ASTM D7566 standard, alternative fuels meeting this specification are approved for blending with conventional kerosene up to 50% without requiring modifications to existing aircraft tanks, pipelines, or airport fueling systems. Additionally, because the FT-SPK route is already approved under the ASTM, no new ASTM certification is required.
“This demonstration proves Aether’s ability to scale up our integrated Aurora platform, take a feedstock through the complete end-to-end process, and produce on-spec synthetic aviation fuel. It is the culmination of over a year of hard work by Aether’s R&D team and is a tremendous milestone,” said Dhaval Shah, Chief Technology Officer of Aether Fuels.
Building Toward Commercial Deployment
The demonstration represents the latest step in Aether’s progression from the lab to commercial deployment, and represents important technical validation ahead of Project Beacon, Aether’s planned 2,000 metric tons per year (50 barrels per day) commercial project in Singapore.
Aether has a pipeline of large commercial projects under development that will follow Project Beacon and produce ASTM D7566-compliant sustainable aviation fuel with lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions reductions of over 70% compared with conventional fossil jet fuel.
