Yesterday, the TAKE-OFF consortium hosted its final conference at the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) in Brussels. The event welcomed approximately 50 participants from research, industry, and European institutions and featured a series of insightful sessions exploring the technical, economic, and policy aspects of sustainable aviation fuels (eSAF).
The day began with an overview of the project’s results, presented by Project Coordinator Georgiana Stan and Jan-Willem Konemann from TNO, followed by a keynote speech from Alexis Chausteur of the European Commission. The keynote highlighted the EU’s commitment to decarbonising aviation through ambitious targets and innovation, including the recently adopted ReFuel EU Aviation Regulation. Later in the morning, Benyamin Khoshnevisan and Hadis Marami from SDU examined the economic feasibility of producing eSAF from CO₂ and hydrogen, presenting valuable insights into the project’s cost-effectiveness. Timo Winkelmann from REDcer then discussed the crucial role of certification in ensuring eSAF compliance with EU sustainability standards, a key factor in facilitating market adoption.
The afternoon sessions showcased additional key technical advancements achieved by TAKE-OFF. These included TNO’s in-situ water separation reactor and the University of Lille’s work on catalyst development for light olefin synthesis. Ntarinai Konosidou from RWTH Aachen University, Max Mally from FEV Europe GmbH, and Dusita de Hoop from SkyNRG illustrated the progress made across the value chain, from CO2 capture to emissions compliance. These encouraging results demonstrated the compliance of TAKE-OFF SAF with greenhouse gas and non-greenhouse gas emissions standards. A further session led by Benyamin Khoshnevisan focused on the environmental advantages of substituting fossil-based kerosene with eSAF. The conference concluded with an overview of ongoing eSAF initiatives, such as the 4AirCraft project, presented by Vanesa Gil of the Aragon Hydrogen Foundation, and final remarks by Georgiana Stan, who emphasised the importance of continued collaboration to scale up eSAF production and adoption.
The TAKE-OFF Final Conference marked the culmination of a dedicated four-year endeavour, uniting experts and researchers from multiple countries who have worked diligently to advance a sustainable future for aviation. This event not only showcased the impressive results achieved through their collective commitment but also provided an opportunity to reflect on the vital role of collaboration, innovation, and urgency in addressing one of the aviation sector’s most significant challenges—decarbonisation.
The conference celebrated this dedication while also serving as a rallying call for ongoing cooperation to build on these achievements and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable aviation industry.
Over the past four years, CO2 Value Europe has been a proud partner in the TAKE-OFF project, focusing on communication and dissemination efforts. Our role has been to help ensure that the project’s key results and developments were effectively shared with relevant stakeholders, contributing to the ongoing dialogue on sustainable aviation fuels. The final conference marked an important milestone in this collaborative effort, highlighting the progress made in reducing emissions and advancing solutions for a more sustainable aviation sector. We look forward to continuing our work in supporting the industry’s transition to greener alternatives.
