ORLEN and Yokogawa Europe have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to initiate industrial-scale production of carbon neutral synthetic aviation fuels (SAF).

The two companies will collaborate to advance the technological process of synthesising fuel from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2).

ORLEN is aiming to become a front runner in the SAF market by investing into its developments and the company’s aims to attain a production capacity of 70,000 tonnes annually by the end of 2030.

Both ORLEN and Yokogawa will produce an integrated management solution for the production of synthetic fuels, creating a virtual replica of a production facility to enable the simulation and fine-tuning of production process, focusing on selecting the most economically viable and environmentally sustainable synthesis method.

Daniel Obajtek, ORLEN’s CEO and President of the Management Board, said, “Our joint project will help us to develop a comprehensive industrial-scale process for the production of synthetic fuels. With our Japanese partner we already have a very successful track record of corporation in optimisation of our refining and petrochemical processes.”

The production facility, referred to as a ‘digital twin’, set to be developed by the two companies is expected to be constructed by the end of 2030.