Lhyfe, a green and renewable hydrogen producer based in Nantes, France, and SAF+ International Group, which produces and markets electro sustainable aviation fuel, or e-SAF, have teamed up to develop the production of e-SAF from green and renewable hydrogen.
SAF+ specializes in helping reduce the carbon footprint of the aviation industry, using available raw materials and renewable energies such as the green hydrogen produced by Lhyfe, and the production will take place at a site located in the Le Havre area. Lhyfe’s first site has been operational since the second half of 2021, and another two sites in France were inaugurated in December 2023 Other sites are in the works across Europe, the companies said.
The deal also plans for Lhyfe to build a green hydrogen production site with a capacity of more than 100 tons per day (300 megawatts of installed electrolysis capacity), which would supply an e-SAF production site built by SAF+. The eSAF produced at the facility would be transported to airports in the Paris region through the hydrocarbon transport network, and reach northern and eastern France via the existing infrastructure.
The partnership comes as SAF is gaining more traction, with Virgin Atlantic completing the first transatlantic flight powered with 100% sustainable aviation fuel at the end of 2023. Currently, airlines are allowed to operate on a maximum of 50% SAF combined with conventional jet fuel as a way to lower emissions, but the possibility of 100% SAF-powered flights may be on the horizon. Gulfstream also completed a transatlantic flight using 100% SAF, a low-emissions fuel made from feedstocks, last year.
The SAF market is expected to grow rapidly, jumping from $1.1 billion in 2023 to $16.8 billion in 2030, spurred by government incentives and airline sustainability targets, with a compound annual growth rate of 47.7%.
“Demand for SAF in the coming years will be exponential, so we now need to be able to demonstrate that viable solutions will be put in place in the short term,” SAF+ CEO Jean Paquin said in a statement. “The partnership signed today between two leaders like Lhyfe and SAF+ is proof that we can achieve these objectives.”
The partnership between Lhyfe and SAF+ includes a plan to assess the potential development of e-SAF production in the Le Havre area and to sign a co-development agreement. The two are targeting 2030 for their launch, with a zero-emissions target for 2050.
