The feasibility of short‐term production strategies for renewable jet fuels – a comprehensive techno‐economic comparison

Abstract This study compares the short‐term economic feasibility of six conversion pathways for renewable jet fuel (RJF) production. The assessment combines (i) a harmonized techno‐economic analysis of conversion pathways expected to be certified for use in commercial aviation by 2020, (ii) a pioneer plant analysis taking into account technological immaturity, and (iii) a quantified assessment of the merits of co‐producing RJF alongside existing European supply chains in the pulp, wheat ethanol, and beet sugar industries. None of the pathways assessed are able to reach price parity with petroleum‐derived jet fuel in the short term. The pioneer plant analysis suggests that the hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) pathway is currently the best option; the technology achieves the lowest minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of 29.3 € GJ−1 (1289 € t−1) and the technology is deployed on commercial scale already. In the short term, nth plant analysis shows hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) and pyrolysis emerging as promising alternatives, yielding MFSPs of 21.4 € GJ−1 (939 € t−1) and 30.2 € GJ−1 (1326 € t−1), respectively. The pioneer plant analysis shows considerable MFSP increases for producing drop‐in fuels using HTL and pyrolysis as both technologies are relatively immature. Hence, further RD&D efforts into these pathways are recommended. Co‐production strategies decrease the MFSP by 4–8% compared to greenfield production. Integration of process units and material and energy flows is expected to lead to further cost reductions. As such, co‐production can be a particularly useful strategy to progress emerging technologies to commercial scale. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd