Metafuels secures Dutch government grant to advance Rotterdam eSAF project
Metafuels' Dutch subsidiary, Metafuels Nederland B.V., has been awarded a €1.92-MM grant. The grant comes from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) under the TSE Industry Studies – Hydrogen & Green Chemistry program (GroenvermogenNL), supporting the continued development of its Turbe synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) project in the Port of Rotterdam.
The grant will support critical project development activities through to final investment decision (FID), including front-end engineering and design (FEED), permitting and consents, and commercial development. The Turbe project is being developed by Metafuels Nederland B.V. and will be located at the Evos terminal in the Port of Rotterdam.
The award recognizes the strength of Metafuels’ proprietary methanol-to-jet technology, aerobrew, and its potential to deliver scalable, cost-competitive e-SAF aligned with Dutch and European climate objectives.
Advancing a flagship European eSAF project. Turbe will be the first commercial deployment of Metafuels’ aerobrew technology and a blueprint for future large-scale facilities. The project is targeting production from 2030 onwards, in line with the introduction of e-SAF sub-mandates under ReFuelEU Aviation.
Located at Evos Rotterdam, the project benefits from access to established methanol infrastructure, multimodal logistics, and a highly skilled industrial workforce—key enablers for scaling synthetic fuel production in Europe. The development aligns closely with the Port of Rotterdam’s ambition to transform into a leading hub for low-carbon fuels and energy transition infrastructure.
From technology breakthrough to industrial deployment.
The grant comes at a pivotal moment for Metafuels as it transitions from technology development to commercial-scale deployment. In recent months, the company has achieved a series of major milestones:
- $24 million funding round led by UVC Partners, with participation from Energy Impact Partners (EIP), Contrarian Ventures, RockCreek, Verve Ventures, and Fortescue Ventures, supporting the scale-up of its technology and project pipeline.
- Award of FEED contract to McDermott Netherlands for the Turbe facility, marking a critical step towards FID and industrial execution.
- Installation of its methanol-to-jet demonstration plant at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland, now preparing for operation.
- Expansion of its European project footprint, including development activities in the Netherlands and Denmark.
Together, these milestones position Metafuels at the forefront of Europe’s emerging e-SAF industry, with a clear pathway from demonstration to first-of-a-kind commercial plants and beyond.
A scalable pathway to aviation decarbonization. Metafuels’ approach centers on the methanol-to-jet pathway, which converts renewable methanol into drop-in jet fuel compatible with existing aircraft and infrastructure. Unlike conventional SAF pathways reliant on limited feedstocks such as waste oils, methanol-based eSAF offers a highly scalable route to meeting long-term aviation demand. When produced using renewable electricity, green hydrogen and captured carbon, it can deliver up to 90% lower lifecycle emissions compared to fossil kerosene.
Metafuels’ aerobrew technology is designed for cost leadership, achieving high conversion efficiency and enabling more competitive production economics at scale. As regulatory frameworks such as ReFuelEU Aviation drive rapid growth in SAF demand from 2030 onwards, scalable synthetic fuel pathways will be essential to meeting both climate targets and aviation’s long-term growth.
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