Haffner Energy in biogenic carbon deal with IdunnH2 for Icelandic e-SAF facility

French biomass to clean fuels technology company Haffner Energy has signed an agreement with Icelandic green hydrogen startup IdunnH2 to provide biogenic carbon for a 65,000 tonnes per year e-SAF facility located near Keflavik International Airport that IdunnH2 is developing. To create e-SAF, the facility will combine green hydrogen from Iceland’s renewable power grid with biogenic carbon from Haffner Energy’s patented biocarbon gasification technology. While the country has good access to renewable power, sourcing recycled carbon, ideally from a biogenic source, is a challenge as it is a costly gas to capture, transport and store. Haffner’s innovation supplies solid biocarbon – also known as biochar, a byproduct of its biomass thermolysis technology – and gasifying it onsite, which the company claims fundamentally changes the costs of e-SAF production.

“Biocarbon is far easier and cheaper to transport and store than CO2, which will make many e-SAF projects economically viable,” commented the company’s co-founder and CEO Philippe Haffner.

Added Marcella Franchi, Head of SAF at Haffner Energy: “We are excited to embark on this e-SAF project with IdunnH2 in Iceland, an ideal location for competitive hydrogen production. This agreement bridges the technological and geographical gap, paving the way for competitive e-SAF production with innovative technology.”

IdunnH2’s 300MW e-SAF facility in Helguvik is scheduled to start production in 2028, with green hydrogen coming from wind, geothermal and hydropower, and the SAF blended onsite with conventional jet fuel.

The partners say the production aligns with the EU’s SAF mandate and will supply the equivalent of 15% of Iceland’s projected total jet fuel demand in 2028 and allow airlines at Keflavik Airport to exceed the 2030 blending requirement. Icelandair has already committed to using up to 45,000 tonnes of SAF from the facility.

“The agreement with Haffner Energy will help us direct Iceland’s renewable power onto its aircraft fleet, to not only decrease emissions but also reduce the country’s import dependence, improve air quality around Keflavik Airport and bolster energy security,” said IdunnH2’s co-founder and CEO Audur Nanna Baldvinsdóttir.

Haffner Energy’s biomass thermolysis technological process produces renewable gas, renewable hydrogen and renewable methanol, as well as converting organic waste into sustainable aviation fuel. Its SAFNOCA technology allows the conversion of solid biomass residues or wastes into hydrogen-rich syngas that can be processed through the alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) or Fischer-Tropsch pathways.

The company is using its biomass agnostic technology to develop its own SAF production project at Paris-Vatry Airport, which will have an initial capacity of 30,000 tonnes of SAF per year, with the potential to triple future production. In June, it announced a collaboration with LanzaJet under which syngas produced by SAFNOCA will be converted into ethanol using LanzaTech’s carbon recycling technology and then into SAF using LanzaJet’s ATJ technology.

Photo: Keflavik International Airport

Christopher Surgenor

Editor

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