Johnson Matthey, bp Technology Chosen for SAF Plant

OAKHURST, N.J. (DTN) --- Johnson Matthey announced Wednesday its Fischer Tropsch CANS (TM) technology, co-developed with bp, has been selected by DG Fuels for its first sustainable aviation fuels plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana.

The proposed $4 billion DG Fuels plant is planned to produce 600,000 metric tons of SAF per year when fully operational and would be the largest announced SAF production plant using a non-HEFA route. The plant is expected to start production by 2028.

DG Fuels has secured offtake agreements with major airlines, including multiyear deals with both Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines. DG Fuels also has a strategic partnership with Airbus to help make SAF available at scale around the world.

The fuel at the Louisiana plant is expected to be produced from waste biomass. DG Fuels is projected to purchase around $120 million of sugar cane waste annually, a third of which is planned to be purchased from St. James Parish farmers. JM and bp's FT CANS technology converts the synthesis gas derived from this biomass to synthetic crude, which is then further processed to produce the synthetic kerosene that is then blended with conventional jet fuel to produce SAF.

DG Fuels is planning 10 more SAF production plants across the United States. These would be modelled on the Louisiana plant with JM and bp as the partner of choice for these facilities.