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Decarbonising flight with direct air capture
Mission Zero Technologies empowers the Translational Energy Research Centre (TERC) to pioneer ultra low-carbon e-fuel to rapidly decarbonise aviation.
INDUSTRY
Research
LOCATION
Sheffield, UK
PROCESS
Power-to-liquid (Fischer-Tropsch)
USE CASE
E-fuel, e-SAF
TERC — part of the University of Sheffield’s Energy Innovation Centre — is a world-leading pilot-scale research centre that works to rapidly demonstrate meaningful low- and zero-carbon energy solutions. As a centre specialising in developing low-carbon e-fuels, TERC quickly identified the potential of direct air capture (DAC) technology for unlocking a pioneer sustainable aviation fuel that can scale to meet UK and EU production targets.
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Unlocking the future of e-fuels with direct air capture
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has secured the regulatory incentives to rapidly increase production, with policy mandates stipulating that SAF makes up 10% of total UK jet fuel supply by 2030 and 6% within the EU. Yet today, most SAF is made using biomass — carbon feedstocks theat are fundamentally unable to sustainably scale to fulfil these mandates.
A new pioneer fuel — dubbed ‘e-SAF’ — uses renewable energy and CO₂ from the air to produce an industrially scalable fuel with the lowest carbon footprint of any SAF. By tapping directly into the carbon abundantly available in the atmosphere, this pathway offers the secure, scalable, and sustainable carbon supply chain required for SAF to truly take flight.
“The aviation sector is fully aware of the importance of e-SAF in terms of it having the lowest carbon footprint and, therefore, the best impact on reducing emissions for flights and beyond. Unlike other feedstocks, such as biomass, the unlimited availability of CO₂ and hydrogen means this pathway is of vital importance for the sector. ”
Prof Mohamed Pourkashanian,
Managing Director of TERC
Managing Director of TERC
Finding the right DAC solution
When looking for a DAC technology provider, TERC based their assessment on research capability, team knowledge and expertise, and cost. Mission Zero’s proposition delivered on all requirements, offering a solution which provided the best opportunity to reduce the financial and environmental cost of capturing CO₂.
Industry-leading sustainability
Cost-optimal CO₂ supply
Built-in scalability
Dedicated partnership
Mision Zero’s compact DAC system is designed for easy industrial co-location. This enables TERC to supply themselves with a sustainable source of high-quality CO₂ directly at the point of use, cutting out the energy and emissions costs from the clean-up, transportation, and liquefaction involved in alternative CO₂ supply. Fed by solar energy generated on TERC’s site, MZT’s heat-free electric DAC system delivers an industry-leading life cycle analysis.
MZT’s electrochemical DAC system’s capture and release mechanisms run continuously and independently on one another, maximising for uptime. The supply of CO₂ itself can be flexibly ramped up and down in seconds, allowing TERC to achieve a cost-optimal performance for their local energy environment — producing more CO₂ when there is an abundance of renewable energy available.
MZT’s DAC system leverages proven, off-the-shelf industrial components backed by global supply chains. This produces a scalable DAC product that can reach technological and manufacturing readiness faster than bespoke DAC approaches. Based on a platform approach, the system is also designed for modular future upgrades to reduce redundancy risk. As a result, MZT were able to deliver their system to TERC seven months after signing the contract and have built early financial confidence around their core technology.
As a pioneer investing in first-of-a-kind technology, TERC were naturally looking for technical excellence and hands-on partnership. The MZT team offered proactive expertise and dedication, working shoulder to shoulder with TERC to ensure that their system delivered its full potential. This was particularly noted during the commissioning phase and ensured that TERC felt like an empowered co-builder — actively engaged in shaping their DAC solution.
“MZT is a very forward-looking, technically-robust team with a strong technical background and a willingness to collaborate on joint research, all of which enables us to achieve our goal of reducing the cost of capturing CO₂ for the power-to-liquids pathway.”
Prof Mohamed Pourkashanian
The Impact
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Maximising for SAF credits
Having the largest DAC facility in the UK on site means TERC are capable of making sustainable aviation fuel with the lowest possible carbon emissions footprint. This can enable an extremely low green premium to earn the highest level of SAF subsidies — delivering aviation fuel with the maximum possible economic and climate benefit.
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Increasing power-to-liquid project bankability
With a reliable on-site supply of CO₂ meeting the strict quality requirements for PtL directly on their campus, e-fuel innovators like TERC are able to demonstrate a long-term continuous and dedicated supply for a critical feedstock. This is essential for increasing financial confidence in breakthrough PtL projects.
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Expanding PtL-SAF research
Having DAC technology available for testing and demonstration enables TERC to develop understanding and implementation of PtL e-SAF production. This ultimately serves to help reduce the cost of capturing CO₂ and accelerate decarbonisation of the aviation sector.
“Reducing the cost of capturing CO₂, as the MZT DAC unit can help us to do, and providing the renewable power to the system to enable it to do this, will make this equipment a leading system for alternative fuel production, ultimately leading to cleaner flights and decarbonised aviation. ”
Prof Mohamed Pourkashanian
TERC seeks to work with MZT on projects with national and European funding projects, sharing data to help optimise their facilities, as well as working with their membership to make these facilities available to support their research.
Empower your Power-to-X journey
Get in touch to see how DAC can deliver the dedicated sustainable carbon feedstock for your power-to-X project to take flight.
