Methanol has been approved as a feedstock for the alcohol-to-jet pathway following ASTM qualification, enabling methanol-to-jet blending components to be produced for use with conventional kerosene.
Methanol-to-jet SAF reached a major qualification milestone on July 30, 2026, after ASTM approved methanol as a feedstock for the alcohol-to-jet production pathway, opening the way for compatible blending components that can be mixed with conventional kerosene without modifications to aircraft, engines or existing fuel infrastructure.
Key Takeaways
- ASTM D7566 Annex 5 now recognizes methanol as an approved feedstock for the alcohol-to-jet pathway.
- Methanol-to-jet blending components can be mixed with at least 50% by volume of conventional kerosene to produce a drop-in aviation fuel.
- The SAFari project is targeting a carbon-based SAF yield of more than 85% by weight through customized catalysts and recycling of material streams and heat.
- European aviation quotas could create demand for approximately 40 million metric tons of SAF by 2050.
The Context
The aviation sector remains heavily dependent on liquid fuels, particularly for long-haul flights exceeding 4,000 km, where high energy density limits the availability of alternatives. More than 23,000 large aircraft worldwide consume approximately 350 billion liters of fuel annually and account for about 3% of human-caused CO₂ emissions, according to the source material.
The ASTM qualification addresses a critical technical barrier for methanol-based SAF. The revision to ASTM D7566 Annex 5, published on July 30, 2026, establishes methanol as an approved feedstock for the alcohol-to-jet pathway.
The development is central to the SAFari collaborative project, which is funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport. The six-year project began on December 1, 2022, and is focused on developing an efficient production process for methanol-based sustainable aviation fuel.
How Methanol-to-Jet SAF Works
The SAFari process uses sustainable methanol produced either from biogenic sources or from hydrogen and captured CO₂. The methanol is converted into short-chain olefins through methanol-to-olefins synthesis.
Those olefins are subsequently combined through oligomerization to form longer-chain olefins. Hydrogenation then converts the olefins into stable paraffins, producing a fuel blend designed to meet aviation fuel requirements.
A major component of the project was its participation in the ASTM qualification process through the Methanol-to-Jet Task Force. Researchers also used a fuel-quality prescreening method developed by the DLR Institute of Combustion Technology to evaluate small fuel samples during the development phase.
The early testing allowed fuel-quality results to be incorporated into process and catalyst development, helping researchers tailor the MTJ blending components to anticipated international specification requirements.
The Quotes
Speaking on the significance of the ASTM qualification, Dr. Elias Frei, Head of the Hydrogen Technologies Division at Fraunhofer ISE, said the SAFari project is targeting a carbon-based SAF yield of more than 85% by weight through customized catalysts and in-process recycling of material streams and heat.
“With the successful completion of the ASTM qualification process, one of the biggest hurdles for demonstration and scaling has now been overcome,” Frei said.
Dr. Achim Schaadt, Head of the Sustainable Synthesis Products Division, said the project will now focus on optimizing and scaling the manufacturing process following the qualification.
“The goal is to produce larger quantities of fuel in order to conduct further research and demonstrations,” added Dr. Franz Mantei, project manager of the SAFari project, describing the objective of moving toward industrial implementation of methanol-based SAF.
Bioenergy Business Analysis
The ASTM qualification materially strengthens the case for methanol as another potential feedstock route into the SAF market by removing a major fuel-specification barrier for the SAFari technology. The immediate priority now shifts from qualification toward production scale-up, process optimization and larger-volume demonstrations, while the commercial opportunity will depend on the project’s ability to achieve its targeted yield and translate laboratory and development-stage performance into industrial-scale production.
The potential demand is substantial: the project partners estimate that mandated European aviation quotas alone could result in approximately 40 million metric tons of SAF by 2050. For investors and policymakers, the development is therefore less about a new fuel concept entering the market and more about whether methanol-to-jet technology can progress from an ASTM-qualified pathway to commercially viable, high-volume SAF production.
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