We are sharing our new impulse paper today with a simple starting point: long‑haul aviation will need liquid fuels for decades, but they must become non‑fossil fast. The technical question “does SAF work?” is answered. The real challenge is building supply chains that can replace fossil fuel at global scale.

Our answer is the PtX.CarbonRun: a practical system to collect renewable carbon from many sources, move it efficiently, and turn it into jet fuel where it’s most cost-efficient. The pivot point for this new system is renewable methanol.

Renewable carbon is everywhere, but scattered: agricultural and forestry residues, biogas, sewage sludge, municipal waste, black liquor, other biogenic streams and, when viable, carbon captured from air. No single source can meet demand alone for the millions of tonnes of sustainable jet fuel. Instead of betting on one feedstock or one mega plant, we propose using renewable methanol as a common, tradeable intermediate.

Methanol is a standard liquid commodity that can be produced close to the dispersed residues at small- or medium-scale and transported using existing tanks, trucks, rail and ships. Upstream, a large number of small-scale producers convert local residues into methanol. Downstream, existing large refineries add Methanol‑to‑Jet modules to produce certified SAF. This decouples carbon collection from fuel production.

Near‑term, Biomass‑to‑Liquid (BtL) and Power‑and‑Biomass‑to‑Liquid (PBtL) projects can deliver fuel and, more importantly, build the capabilities – logistics, certification, investor confidence – needed for future large-scale Power‑to‑Liquid (PtL) plants.

Crucially, aviation is not the only offtaker: the chemical and shipping industry also demands renewable methanol, creating early business cases that drive learning before aviation ramps up Methanol‑to‑Jet production.

For this system to take off, key characteristics like trust in sustainability through digital product passports and chain-of-custody infrastructure must be in place. In the full paper, we invite you to read about the specifics of the proposed set up and get into contact with us if you‘d like to contribute to building these new value chains.

Frank Mischler and Torsten Schwab

Directors of the International Power-to-X Hub

The global alliance Getting to Zero Coalition led by the Global Maritime Forum unites 200+ maritime stakeholders to make zero‑emission vessels and fuels commercially viable and scalable by 2050. The PtX Hub joined the initiative in May and will contribute to Green Shipping Corridor development through technical expertise, policy insights and hands‑on implementation experience, especially in collaboration with emerging economies.