SAFire – SAF Innovation and Research Ecosystem

Aviation currently accounts for ca. 2.5% of global GHG emissions and 11% of Switzerland's total emissions. The industry aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, and the use of SAF is a key enabler, capable of reducing lifecycle emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil jet fuel. Regulation (e.g. ReFuelEU mandate) is already forcing airlines to blend increasing shares of SAF. A major challenge for the aviation industry is that reaching net zero by 2050 calls for an estimated 500 million t/a of SAF, while current production capacity stands at 2 million t/a. Closing this gap is not a matter of incremental improvement; it demands rapid validation of new production technologies, aggressive scale-up engineering, major infrastructure investment, and fast certification pathways. This project ensures Switzerland keeps pace with future SAF demand by building the consortia needed to bring emerging Swiss technologies to industrial-scale SAF production using CO₂ as feedstock. With key partnerships already established across the technology value chain, we invite research groups, companies, and investors to participate in an industry that must scale 250x over the next 25 years.

Under the SAFire umbrella, planned strategic activities intend to:

• Accelerate Swiss technological innovation as well as their scale up and industrialization. With particular focus on more direct SAF production routes via the MeOH pathway.
• Identify suitable locations in the Greater Zurich Area (e.g., Dübendorf airfield) for pilot and industrial scale SAF production.
• Conduct techno-economic evaluations for different plant sizes and technology scenarios.
• Connect SAF production with end users by including evaluation of SAF quality and emission testing.  
• Engage with researchers, industry partners and potential stakeholders, to enable future industrial scale production.

At the core of this effort is the formation of a competence-based consortium for a first pilot-and-demonstration plant using Swiss technology to cover the full value chain - i.e. from CO₂ (captured from hard-to-abate industries) – for production of SAF. A subsequent phase is intended to carry these findings forward into technology development, scale-up, and industrialization. Hence the immediate goal is the scaling up of SAF-related innovative Swiss technologies; the ultimate goal, to industrialize SAF production in Switzerland, strengthening its energy independence while contributing to national and international climate targets.