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As I chatted with delegates and watched presentations, it became clear that sustainability had shifted to the top of the agenda, with more “conventional” topics receiving less attention.

For example, I attended an interesting presentation on optimising conventional refining processes – an important topic as owners still need to operate their assets economically and margins still need to be met – but the amount of apparent interest was less than I had expected.

In contrast, if you were talking about sustainability, then seating was at a premium, as was the case for a presentation by my colleague Svetlana van Bavel, Senior Process Engineer Gas-to-Liquids/X-to-Liquids at Shell Catalysts & Technologies. As with similar presentations, her insights on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) provoked so much interest there was standing room only.

The overwhelming interest in Svetlana’s presentation reflects the growing importance of SAF to refiners. Indeed, I was keen to learn about the key players in this area – how developed their solutions are, any pilot projects and who is partnering with whom.

Through conversations and presentations, the message was clear: SAF is a viable, scalable option that can help refiners decarbonise their product slates. It is also crucial to the aviation industry as it tries to reduce its environmental impact. For example, the European Union’s (EU) ReFuelEU Aviation initiative mandates that jet fuel should consist of 70% SAF by 2050,¹ a target that can only be achieved if there is a plentiful supply of high-quality SAF.

As regulations tighten, the demand for SAF will only increase – this we can be sure of. But less certain is how the industry will meet this demand.

SAF comes in two main types. First, bioSAF is produced from biowaste (designated Annex IX A and IX B feedstocks under the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive) such as agricultural residues, wood waste, municipal solid waste, used cooking oils and waste animal fats. Key challenges for bioSAF are feedstock availability, ease of processing and potential land-use competition with agriculture.

Second, synthetic SAF (also known as e-SAF or PTL [power to liquids]), which is made from renewable (green) hydrogen and CO₂ captured from a point source or the atmosphere. Given growing renewable energy capacity and a relative abundance of water and CO₂, there is general consensus that synthetic SAF will scale better and more sustainably than bioSAF.

However, views differ on how the final synthetic SAF will be synthesised. For example, some licensing companies, including Shell Catalysts & Technologies, use Fischer–Tropsch technology, whereas others see alcohol-based technologies as the most viable pathway.

Witnessing the level of debate on SAF is reassuring because it helps to drive innovation, which is good for the environment, refiners and the aviation industry.

Hydrogen was also high on the agenda, with some sessions dedicated to low-carbon hydrogen. A notable presentation by Boston Consulting Group suggested that production from European refineries has already peaked and is on the decline. This was a sobering message for refiners that are trying to find ways to continue operating at current scales. Potential routes exist in the production of renewable (green) and decarbonised (blue) hydrogen, but there are challenges to overcome before either can be scaled to the levels needed.

Renewable hydrogen is required for synthetic SAF production, however, as noted in one presentation, it is still perceived as novel and risky, despite electrolysers having been in operation for over 50 years. So, the narrative around renewable hydrogen was one of reassurance: it is not something new – though the technology has advanced considerably since the 1960s – but instead a potential option for refiners.

At the moment, however, renewable hydrogen is considered too expensive for many. As an alternative, decarbonised hydrogen, produced from natural gas (methane) with carbon capture and storage (CCS), is gaining more attention. Crucially, decarbonised hydrogen, which is expected to be cheaper to produce than renewable hydrogen, is seen as a bridging technology that can help manufacturers to continue operating at scale until the cost of renewable hydrogen reaches parity.

There was, nevertheless, an upbeat mood around decarbonised hydrogen and related CCS technology. With organisations like the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative and large-scale pilot projects such as Northern Lights and Aramis helping to accelerate CCS deployment (Shell is one of the key partners in both), there are high hopes that decarbonised hydrogen can fulfil its temporary role in meeting growing demand for low-carbon hydrogen.

As the industry moves towards more sustainable and innovative products, collaboration to accelerate innovation and technology deployment will become increasingly important. For example, Shell is leveraging the benefits of strategic partnerships and collaborations with large and small companies that develop specialised catalyst and refining technologies, and licensing packages.

It is also encouraging to see more and more start-ups build a presence across the sector. The agility of these companies enables them to challenge conventional business models, which in turn drives larger companies to move faster and be more innovative.

Events like ERTC are useful because they enable us to chat directly with others who are on the same journey and face similar challenges. Certainly, seeing how different companies are addressing these concerns forces us to ask important questions of ourselves: are we doing the right things? Can we do them better? Can we do them faster? Events such as ERTC can help us answer these questions.