Vizag to host India’s first ethanol-to-jet fuel plant

Visakhapatnam: National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited has awarded the EPC contract to GPS Renewables to construct India's first ethanol-to-jet sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant. The plant will be located at NTPC Green Energy Limited's green hydrogen hub in Pudimadaka, near Visakhapatnam. The plant will produce 1,800 tonnes per annum of SAF using ethanol derived from CO2. The plant will use a process chain involving ethanol-to-ethylene conversion, olefin oligomerisation, and hydroprocessing to produce SAF and renewable diesel.GPS Renewables will deliver the project with its technology and engineering partners. Lummus Technology will provide the ETJ technology license and basic engineering for the process. Xytel India will provide detailed engineering for the core process package. GPS Renewables' scope runs through March 2029, covering full project construction and commissioning, and 1 year of operation post commissioning.Mainak Chakraborty, co-founder and CEO, GPS Renewables, said that SAF stands out as the most promising option for reducing emissions in a hard-to-abate sector like aviation. "However, viable commercial-scale production of SAF is still limited. We aim to bring a proven pathway to produce SAF from ethanol and enable the large-scale production of SAF in India," said Chakraborty.Romain Lemoine, chief business officer of Lummus Technology, said that the project represents a major milestone, bringing this ethanol-to-jet technology from concept to commercial reality. "By leveraging our integrated solution, GPS will deliver a scalable SAF configuration with reduced capital and operating costs and lower carbon intensity. India's strong ethanol ecosystem provides an ideal launch environment and supports future global deployment," said Lemoine.
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