MB Energy and Metafuels have agreed to strengthen cooperation across the European e-SAF supply chain, linking synthetic aviation fuel production with blending, logistics, infrastructure, certification and customer delivery.
The collaboration was announced alongside the opening of Metafuels’ demonstration plant in Switzerland and is expected to support the development of an end-to-end pathway for certified synthetic aviation fuel (e-SAF). The companies said the work will initially focus on Metafuels’ Turbe project in Rotterdam, which is targeted for launch in 2030.
Partnership targets the gap between production and aircraft
The agreements cover several stages required to move e-SAF from production facilities into aviation fuel supply networks. These include market access, blending, infrastructure, logistics, certification and the transfer of information needed for deployment.
The companies said the collaboration is designed to address an infrastructure gap between producing synthetic aviation fuel and supplying it to aircraft. Developing that connection is increasingly important for e-SAF projects, where producing the fuel is only one part of establishing a commercially usable supply chain.
Under a proposed methanol arrangement, MB Energy could also become a supplier of methanol feedstock for Metafuels.
The source does not specify the volume of methanol that could be supplied, the commercial value of the arrangement or whether the proposed supply agreement has been finalised.
Metafuels technology provides the production route
Metafuels is developing a technology that converts methanol produced from renewable feedstocks into aviation fuel. The company is preparing its supply chain ahead of the planned 2030 launch of the Turbe project in Rotterdam.
According to Metafuels, its approach requires coordination across multiple parts of the value chain, from feedstock and fuel production through to logistics and delivery.
The collaboration with MB Energy is intended to provide additional capabilities in areas beyond fuel production. MB Energy brings experience in energy trading, logistics, infrastructure and certification, according to the announcement.
The companies said their objective is to establish the mechanisms required to deliver blended and certified e-SAF to the aircraft wing, rather than treating production as a standalone activity.
Rotterdam project at centre of development
The Turbe project in Rotterdam represents the initial focus of the collaboration. Metafuels is preparing the associated supply chain ahead of the project’s planned 2030 launch.
The source does not provide the project’s production capacity, investment value, expected e-SAF output or construction schedule. It also does not specify the precise renewable feedstocks that would be used to produce the methanol.
For the wider European e-SAF market, the partnership brings together a technology developer and an energy company with capabilities spanning trading, infrastructure and fuel logistics.
Certification and infrastructure remain key requirements
The companies highlighted certification, regulatory certainty and infrastructure as important requirements for the wider adoption of synthetic aviation fuel.
For e-SAF to reach aviation customers, fuel must move through a chain that connects production, blending, transport and delivery while maintaining the required certification and information flows. The companies’ collaboration is therefore focused on several operational stages that sit between fuel production and final use.
Philipp Kroepels, Director New Energy at MB Energy, said the partnership would help connect technology, renewable molecules, infrastructure and customer access.
“This is a major step towards getting e-SAF into plane wings,” Kroepels said.
He added that reducing the carbon intensity of aviation fuels would require partnerships across the value chain.
Matthias Schnellmann, Vice President Commercial at Metafuels, said the opening of the company’s demonstration plant marked a move towards industrial application of its methanol-to-jet technology.
“Scaling e-SAF is a supply chain challenge as much as a technology one,” Schnellmann said.
Bioenergy Business Analysis
The MB Energy-Metafuels collaboration highlights a central commercial challenge for emerging e-SAF projects: fuel production alone does not create a complete aviation supply chain. Blending, certification, storage, transportation, infrastructure and customer access must also be coordinated before synthetic fuel can reach aircraft.
The partnership is notable because it combines Metafuels’ methanol-to-jet technology with MB Energy’s stated capabilities in trading, logistics, infrastructure and certification. If the proposed arrangements progress as planned, this could give the Turbe project a more integrated route from feedstock and production through to fuel delivery.
The development also underscores the importance of supply-chain planning ahead of large-scale e-SAF deployment. For project developers and investors, the ability to establish reliable downstream infrastructure and market access may be as important as the underlying fuel-production technology. However, the supplied announcement does not provide enough information to assess the project’s economics, financing, production scale or final commercial structure.
The collaboration will now support development of the supply-chain arrangements associated with Metafuels’ Turbe project in Rotterdam, which the company plans to launch in 2030.
The agreements were signed as Metafuels opened its demonstration plant in Switzerland, providing the immediate platform for the companies to advance their work on connecting synthetic aviation fuel production with the infrastructure required for aviation deployment.
Read also: Axens, Wison Engineering partner to advance global eSAF projects
