By Paul Ticehurst, MD of FT Liquids, Johnson Matthey
As sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) moves from ambition to buildout, one constraint is becoming increasingly hard to ignore: feedstock availability. Early SAF deployment has been led by HEFA (hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids), largely because it is a comparatively straightforward route to refinery-ready molecules. But HEFA depends heavily on used cooking oil and other lipid streams that are finite, unevenly distributed, and increasingly competed for as more countries set blending targets. In the EU, for example, the majority of HEFA feedstocks are imported; an approach that brings cost and supply-chain risk as mandates tighten.
That is why the next phase of SAF scaling will be defined less by a single pathway and more by feedstock optionality. The projects that succeed will be those designed to run on the resources that are locally available – including waste, residues, captured carbon dioxide (CO2), renewable power – without being locked into one constrained input.
Why Fischer-Tropsch (FT) matters
The Fischer-Tropsch (FT) route is one of the most established ways to convert syngas, a mixture of hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO), into longer-chain hydrocarbons that can be upgraded into jet fuel blendstocks. The strategic advantage of FT for SAF is simple: if you can produce clean, conditioned syngas, you can make FT liquids. That makes FT a powerful platform for scaling SAF beyond the limitations of lipid-based feedstocks.
FT-derived SAF is already an ASTM-approved SAF pathway, meaning it can be blended into conventional jet fuel and used across today’s aviation fleet without changes to aircraft or airport infrastructure, which is why it is widely seen as a credible scaling option.
A broader feedstock base
Because syngas is the intermediate, FT can be paired with a wider set of carbon sources, including:
- Municipal solid waste (MSW), which can reduce landfill dependence while supplying syngas for fuel production.
- Forestry residues and agricultural wastes (wood chips, straw, stover), which can mobilise underused biomass streams and strengthen rural supply chains.
- Captured CO2 combined with green hydrogen, converted to syngas using reverse water-gas shift opens a practical route to eSAF integration over time.
This breadth matters not only for volume, but it also supports energy security and resilience, allowing regions to build SAF strategies around domestic raw materials rather than relying on imported feedstocks.
What FT CANS™ changes
While FT chemistry has been understood for a century, scaling SAF via this technology depends on how effectively plants manage the realities of industrial operation, particularly heat management and efficient conversion in an exothermic reaction system.
Johnson Matthey Davy’s and BP’s co-owned and co-developed FT CANS™ technology focuses on intensifying FT performance through a modular reactor architecture paired with advanced catalyst and carrier design. The configuration is designed to improve heat transfer and mass transport, support stable temperature control, and sustain high productivity. These factors directly influence selectivity, operating stability, and overall economics.
Crucially for scale-up, FT CANS is positioned as a modular, scalable system, enabling producers to size plants to match available feedstock supply, whether that means building larger centralised facilities or scaling-out in stages. In published performance terms, the technology has been associated with CO conversion rates exceeding 90% and a major reduction in catalyst volume for equivalent throughput. These improvements translate into smaller footprints and better capital efficiency.
The carbon efficiency lever
Even within an FT-based pathway, overall yields can be strengthened by improving syngas utilisation and reducing ‘carbon leakage’ during syngas conditioning (adjusting the H2/CO ratio). One lever is to recycle CO2 back into useful syngas when paired with renewable hydrogen. This approach is enabled by Johnson Matthey’s HyCOgen™ reverse water-gas shift technology. Used selectively, this kind of integration can materially improve carbon efficiency and create a pragmatic bridge toward hybrid bio-SAF and eSAF configurations as markets mature.
What happens next?
As 2030 targets approach and the scale gap remains stark, the SAF market is moving into a phase where bankability, feedstock resilience, and market readiness will decide what gets built. FT’s ability to draw from multiple eligible feedstocks, combined with modern reactor and catalyst design that improves efficiency and scalability, offers a credible route to expand SAF supply beyond the limits of first-wave raw materials.
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