mSAF. Jet fuel from methane, made the same way.
Jet fuel needs to arrive in quantity, not eventually. mSAF starts from methane that is already collected — landfills, digesters, processing hubs — and converts it where it sits.
Scroll sideways to follow the whole pathway.
The same jet fuel, from an abundant feedstock.
mSAF is sustainable aviation fuel produced from methane. The methane can come from a pipeline, from renewable natural gas captured at a landfill or digester, or from tail gas at a refinery or gas plant, from associated gas at a wellhead that would otherwise be flared or vented. Infinium Reform™, our electrified steam reformer, turns that gas into syngas using electricity in place of fired heat. The syngas then passes through Infinium Synthesize™, the same chain-limiting catalyst step that finishes eSAF, and comes out as jet fuel.
That last point is the important one. mSAF is not a different fuel with a different approval path and a different handling procedure. The molecule leaving a Synthesize reactor is an ASTM specification jet fuel with no sulfur and very low aromatics, whether the carbon entering the plant arrived as CO₂ or as CH₄.
Reform™ is already the world's first electrified steam methane reformer at commercial scale, and Infinium is now building the world's largest.
Aviation needs volume this decade, not next
The world needs something on the order of eight million barrels a day of sustainable aviation fuel by 2050 to meet net zero commitments. Today SAF is under one per cent of jet fuel supply. Closing that gap means plants that can be financed, built, and commissioned on a schedule that matches the target.
mSAF is designed for that schedule. The methane is already collected at landfills, digesters, and processing hubs, the conversion technology is proven, and each site can be permitted and built on a conventional industrial timeline.
What can feed an mSAF plant
Reform™ was built for flexibility, because gas streams in the real world are rarely clean and rarely constant. The table below sets out the streams the system is designed around and what each one implies for the finished fuel.
| Stream | Typical source | Carbon intensity effect | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renewable natural gas | Landfill gas, anaerobic digesters, agricultural waste | Lowest. Can approach or pass zero on a lifecycle basis | Strongest position under low-carbon fuel programs |
| Associated and flare gas | Oil production sites where gas is flared or vented | Low. Credits the avoided flaring or venting | Requires gathering infrastructure at site |
| Biogas, raw | Digesters and wastewater treatment | Low | May need upstream clean-up depending on composition |
| Refinery and process tail gas | Refineries, gas processing, petrochemical plants | Moderate. Depends on the alternative use of the stream | Suits co-location with an existing asset |
Being straight about the carbon
eSAF has a simple carbon story: the carbon in the fuel was captured waste CO₂, the energy was renewable, and the lifecycle reduction lands around ninety per cent against fossil jet. mSAF is more nuanced, and it would be misleading to publish a single number for it.
The lifecycle carbon intensity of mSAF depends on three things: where the methane came from, what would have happened to it otherwise, and how the reformer is powered. An mSAF plant running on renewable natural gas and renewable electricity sits at one end of that range. A plant running on associated gas and grid power sits at the other. Both produce spec-grade jet fuel; they do not produce the same environmental claim.
Infinium certifies carbon intensity pathway by pathway, per project, with the relevant accredited body, and every offtake contract references the certified figure for the specific plant supplying it.
Where each one fits
Infinium's portfolio can site a plant against either a CO₂ stream or a gas stream, expanding the locations where SAF facilities can be built.
| eSAF | mSAF | |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon feedstock | Waste CO₂ from industrial, biogenic sources or DAC | RNG, LFG, or tail or associated gas |
| Hydrogen source | Water electrolysis using renewable power | Reforming the methane feed |
| Front-end system | Infinium React™, reverse water-gas shift | Infinium Reform™, electrified steam reforming |
| Fuel synthesis | Infinium Synthesize™ | Infinium Synthesize™, identical |
| Lifecycle GHG reduction | Around 90% against fossil jet | Feedstock dependent. See carbon intensity |
| Where it sites well | Beside a concentrated CO₂ source with abundant renewables | Beside gas: producing basins, RNG clusters, processing hubs |
| Product at the outlet | Synthetic paraffinic kerosene | Synthetic paraffinic kerosene, same specification |
| Read more | The eSAF pathway | This page |
Three conversations we are having now
Gas owners and producers
If you are an owner of RNG, LFG or other methane streams, we will look at composition, volume and site with you.
Airlines and fuel buyers
mSAF adds contractable volume to a portfolio that already includes eSAF, with the certified carbon intensity stated per plant.
Licensees
Reform™ and Synthesize™ are available as a licensed package with catalyst and core equipment, for operators who want to build and run their own capacity.