Low carbon jet fuel through integration of novel technologies for co-valorisation of CO2 and biomass

Low-carbon aviation fuels must be developed to help the UK to transition to a low carbon future, whilst meeting security of energy supply. This multidisciplinary proposal unites leading engineers and scientists from the Universities of Heriot-Watt, Aston, Oxford and University of Edinburgh to realise our vision of production of low carbon jet fuels through the integration of novel technologies for co-valorisation of carbon dioxide (CO2) and biomass. Our project aims to produce low carbon synthetic aviation jet fuel using renewable energy from waste agricultural and forestry biomass and captured CO2. An integrated chemistry (bottom-up method to develop novel catalysts and electrodes) and engineering (top-down method to tailor heat and mass transport parameters influencing reaction conditions) approach will be implemented towards high selective and efficient jet fuel production. Process integration and life cycle analysis will be performed by incorporating the newly developed process into a greater domain (e.g. various options of carbon sources), and to investigate the social/political/economic valuation of the biomass and CO2 to jet fuel value added chain.

This multidisciplinary collaboration across leading Universities to conduct transformative research on low carbon fuels will impact on society and economy, particularly in the energy sector and associated materials and process industries, as well as impact knowledge and capacity building.

The development of novel technologies for low-carbon aviation fuels, employing novel processes, is central to reducing our CO2 emissions from the transport sector, and is thus expected to impact heavily on the global economy and quality of life. This project will help to bring about the UK transition to a low carbon future, and consequently, on the robustness of the UK economy. The outcomes of this project will contribute to achieving the UK's ambitious and legislated target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. The combination of CCS and biomass gasification could deliver 130 TWh per year, ie ~10 % of future national energy demand. Moreover, CCS could create 25,000 jobs in in the UK and could be worth > £10 billion a year by around 2025. The technologies developed in this project (gasification of biomass and CO2 valorisation) are indeed critical to meet the UK energy and environmental demands, as well as ensuring security of supply.

A broad range of stakeholders have been identified to benefit from the outcomes of this project, including industry (energy generators, equipment providers) and UK Policymakers and Regulators (e.g. DECC, UK and Scottish Agencies). We propose a plan for outreach to the public, policy makers and industry that will complement the conventional routes for dissemination to the scientific community. All the researchers will engage communication and engagement activities. We will be supported by Heriot-Watt Engage that promotes, stimulates and supports public engagement activities to create and exchange knowledge for the benefit of society.

Our dissemination activities will include publications in high impact journals and open access publications, as well as active participation in national and international conferences publication od project outputs in relevant trade journal. A dedicated web site will be established to promote broader understanding of the project and disseminate. We will also deliver a variety of public engagement activities, with face-to-face engagement including festivals, schools programmes, lectures and policyholder briefings. We will deliver engagement workshops aimed at industry to exchange knowledge, identify funding/collaboration opportunities and dissemination of outputs.