French engineering company Technip Energies, along with European aviation players Airbus and Safran and cooperative conglomerate Tereos, has entered into an agreement to create Rebound, a joint venture to develop a large-scale Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production project at the Port of Dunkirk in Northern France.
“The project will use the Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ) technological pathway to produce approximately 160,000 tons of SAF per year, making it one of the largest facilities of its kind in Europe and contributing to European energy sovereignty,” they stated.
With this agreement, the partners have also committed to fund the project’s development phase, including engineering studies and other activities required to consider a Final Investment Decision (FID).
The development comes amid SAF emerging as the primary lever to decarbonize aviation. Under the European Union’s “Refuel EU Aviation” regulation, SAF blending mandates will rise progressively, reaching 6% by 2030 and 70% by 2050, driving an eightfold increase in fuel demand between 2030 and 2050.
Among the available production methods, “Alcohol-to-Jet” has become a scalable and cost-competitive option by converting advanced ethanol (produced from agricultural and forestry residues) into drop-in aviation fuel that can be blended with conventional jet fuel and used in existing engines and aircraft.
“In this project development phase, Technip Energies will act as the project’s lead developer and engineering service provider, bringing its expertise in technology scaling and complex project execution. Airbus and Safran, world-class leaders in global aerospace, have joined as industrial partners, offtake facilitators, and potential SAF offtakers. As a European leader in ethanol production, Tereos, a French agricultural cooperative, intends to supply and source the advanced ethanol required for the project. Together, the four partners cover the value chain from feedstock supply to aviation end-use, under a single European-led initiative,” the joint venture said.
The Port of Dunkirk, as an industrial site for Technip Energies, will offer strong logistical advantages for feedstock and product transport, as well as a streamlined permitting pathway.
“The partners will progress through a disciplined, stage-gated development process. Steps ahead include the selection of the technology licensor, permitting activities, launch of pre-FEED (Front-End Engineering Design) and FEED activities, finalization of feedstock supply and SAF offtake agreements, and securing the financing for the construction of the asset. The creation of the joint venture is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals and is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year,” the companies announced.