Fuel for the Israeli economy: Boeing and the Technion are jointly developing sustainable jet fuel. This unique collaboration will advance Israeli innovation, energy security, and civil aviation. Upon completion of the project’s feasibility study, Boeing and the Technion announced yesterday progress to the next stage: Applied development.
Dr. Brandon Nelson, President of Boeing Global, visited the Technion to mark a milestone in SAF activity – the Boeing–Technion Innovation Center for Sustainable Jet Fuel – and the launch of the applied development stage. This strategic partnership, the Boeing–Technion SAF Innovation Center, was launched in 2023.
According to the project partners, long-term growth in the aviation sector depends on the production of SAF (jet fuel) from raw materials including green hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and the joint center will advance this process to a level that enables commercial production at a competitive cost. Now, following the completion of the research and feasibility stage, the practical phase of the project has been announced – the development of SAF and its production from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide – and the improvement of the process to a level that enables competitive, commercial-scale production.
Also participating in the visit on behalf of Boeing were Boeing Israel President Maj. Gen. (res.) Ido Nehushtan and SAF Project Lead Haggai Mazursky. The Boeing delegation was received at the Technion by Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan, Vice President for Research Prof. Noam Adir, Vice President for Innovation and Industry Relations Prof. Yuval Garini, and Center Head Prof. Gidi Grader of the Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering.
Dr. Nelson, a physician by training, previously held senior positions in the Australian government, including Member of the Australian Parliament, the Defence Minister, the Education, Science and Training Minister, and Ambassador to Europe. During his visit to the Technion, Nelson said: “Beyond supplying our customers with high-quality, fuel-efficient aircraft, Boeing operates on the global and regional stage to strengthen energy security, support the growth of the civil aviation industry, and create new economic opportunities through sustainable jet fuel and additional technologies. We are pleased to collaborate with the Technion and other SAF partners at the Boeing–Technion Innovation Center for Sustainable Jet Fuel, and to support the Israeli aerospace industry.”
“This is a historic collaboration of national importance for the State of Israel,” said Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan. “The partnership with Boeing, a leading global player in aviation, is an expression of confidence in the Technion, its researchers, and our technological capabilities. In this partnership, Technion experts are taking on a monumental mission: To develop technologies for producing clean fuels through sustainable processes, thereby making a significant contribution to the world of aviation – and no less importantly, to human health and the environment. I have no doubt that we will meet this challenge, just as we have met many others over the past hundred years.”
Boeing Israel President Maj. Gen. (res.) Ido Nehushtan said that Boeing influenced Israel even before the establishment of the state. “Boeing was active in Israel even before the declaration of independence, and it is a vital supplier to El Al and to the Israeli Air Force. Israeli industries are now major suppliers to Boeing, and many Israeli systems are integrated into Boeing products around the world. Boeing has steadily deepened its research and development ties with academia and industry in Israel, as well as its investments in the high-tech sector.”
The President of Boeing Israel added that the collaboration between the Technion and Boeing will pave the way for the development of the most advanced Israeli technologies and capabilities, which will be integrated into future generations of aviation and space systems worldwide.
The Boeing–Technion partnership was launched at Boeing’s initiative and includes partners from Israel’s industrial and government sectors. The Government of Israel has promoted initiatives and allocated financial support to accelerate the Israeli SAF industry, including the establishment of the iSAF research consortium through the Innovation, Science and Technology Ministry, and SAF-IL, an acceleration program for Israeli start-up companies developing SAF, through the Israel Innovation Authority.
To lead this groundbreaking vision for SAF development, Boeing partnered with Prof. Gidi Grader of the Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering at the Technion to establish the center, which has now completed its proof-of-feasibility stage. As part of the partnership, 11 faculty members and dozens of research students from five different faculties are active at the Technion, working on various aspects of aviation fuel production, including efficient and competitive production, theoretical aspects of catalytic reactions and fuel combustion, safety considerations, full product life-cycle analysis, and the establishment and operation of an experimental facility for fuel testing at the Technion – a facility that will be the second of its kind in the world.
The announcement of the Boeing–Technion partnership was originally planned for October 2023. Despite the events of October 7 and the war that followed, it was decided to continue the technical work, as Dr. Brandon explained several months later: “We launched this initiative – an initiative of resilience and innovation in the spirit of the Jewish people and the State of Israel – shortly after the horrific attack of October 7. When I met the Prime Minister a few months earlier, I told him that if there is a country in the world capable of solving the emissions challenge of civil aviation, it is Israel, led by the Technion, Israel’s MIT.”