Can you make jet fuel without hydrocarbons? Calgary oilsands experts say yes

Calgary oilsands engineering firm Vista Projects says it helped deliver what it calls the first U.S. commercial facility producing jet fuel without conventional oil feedstocks. The company’s work culminated in the official christening of Twelve’s sustainable aviation fuel AirPlant One facility in Moses Lake, Washington, earlier this month. Twelve CEO Nicholas Flanders said Vista brought the right approach to building an unprecedented system, while Vista contributed over three years of engineering design work converting CO2, water, and renewable electricity into jet fuel. The process captures CO2 from a nearby ethanol producer, uses electrolyzers to create synthetic gas, and then runs it through a Fischer Tropsch reactor before refining into aviation fuel. The plant also produces e-naptha for petrochemical uses. Twelve says the resulting fuel requires no aircraft engine modifications and can reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions by 90% versus conventional fuel, though it is initially “a little bit more expensive.”