Cleared for Takeoff: How ASTM Approval of Methanol-to-Jet Accelerates SAF at Scale

June 30, 2026

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(Honeywell Technologies) ASTM approval of methanol-to-jet unlocks a new scalable SAF pathway, expanding feedstocks and accelerating lower-carbon aviation fuel production. -- Aviation needs more pathways

Scaling the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and electro-SAF (eSAF) remains a major aviation challenge, but momentum is growing. ASTM International, the leading body for testing and qualifying fuels, recently approved Honeywell UOP’s methanol-to-jet (MTJ) pathway, marking a key milestone toward broader adoption.

Demand for low-carbon aviation fuel continues to rise. Total SAF production will need to rise from approximately 40,000 barrels per steam day (BPSD) in 2025 to an estimated 400,000 BPSD in 2035 to meet global mandates. Growth will depend on expanding the constrained set of traditional feedstocks like vegetable oils and animal fats in use today. Meeting demand will require new, scalable pathways, and MTJ is now positioned to help expand feedstock options and speed commercial-scale production.

What is MTJ and why it’s gaining momentum

The MTJ process is straightforward: methanol— produced remotely or on-site— is fed into a Honeywell UOP eFining™ unit, where it is upgraded into SAF or eSAF with high yield and selectivity. The technology is efficient, resulting in high-yield SAF production at a lower cost relative to comparable technologies. Honeywell UOP eFining can also reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 88% compared to conventional jet fuel1.

A key advantage of the MTJ pathway is flexibility. Methanol can be produced from captured CO₂ and renewable hydrogen, or from biomass-derived syngas, expanding feedstock access beyond traditional SAF inputs. Together with Honeywell UOP’s decades of methanol processing experience, these capabilities signal a broader shift: the market is moving from early validation toward commercialization.

Why it matters for customers and developers

For refiners and project developers, MTJ introduces:

More optionality: Broader feedstock access helps reduce supply bottlenecks
Improved site viability: Projects can align with locally available CO₂, hydrogen and renewable power
Increased confidence: Proven, scalable technologies support progress from early design to final investment decisions

The result is faster time to market and lower execution risk in a rapidly evolving SAF market.

From pilot to deployment

Commercial momentum is already taking shape.

Verso Energy announced plans to deploy eFining across seven SAF production sites in Europe and the United States, using a standardized design to accelerate scale and reduce costs.

Jilin Connell in China will use eFining to develop one of the world’s largest single-site MTJ facilities by leveraging its existing methanol-to-olefins (MTO) process, with annual SAF production capacity of 280,000 metric tons.

Power2X will use eFining in its Port of Rotterdam facility – a large-scale production and storage hub for ultra-low carbon fuels – to convert renewable methanol into 250,000 tons per year of low-carbon jet fuel.

Enabling scale: renewable methanol, eFining and a growing SAF ecosystem

For refiners and developers, the MTJ pathway supports modular, scalable plant designs and can operate on its own or connect with upstream CO₂-to-methanol production, giving projects more flexibility across different regions.

This integration is what allows MTJ to scale. By separating feedstock production from fuel conversion, developers can improve flexibility and economics. MTJ adds resilience by expanding feedstock access, enabling new project types and supporting global production growth.

With process technologies like Honeywell UOP eFining helping bring these projects to life, the SAF ecosystem is becoming more flexible, more scalable and better positioned to meet long-term demand.

1 Reduced GHG emissions is based on UOP carbon intensity analysis, derived from a 3rd-party study of methanol production from green hydrogen and CO2 captured from biomass processing, in comparison to fossil fuels.

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Methanol-to-jet nears ASTM approval in SAF supply boost (Argus Media)
ASTM Approves MtJ Production Pathway for e-SAF (Global e-Fuels)

Excerpt form Argus Media: The MTJ pathway has passed the key stages of the process by ASTM International, the industry body that approves new fuel for use in aircraft. Industry sources expect remaining formalities to be completed in coming weeks.

ASTM's committee recently approved Honeywell's MTJ pathway, the US-based technology provider said this week. This could unlock SAF production from feedstocks such as biomethanol and e-methanol, broadening supply beyond the waste oils and fats used in most SAF production.

But the development extends beyond Honeywell. Its technology and fuel samples were used in the qualification work, but the MTJ pathway would be available to all producers operating within the approved specification, when that is adopted by ASTM.

The MTJ pathway has passed balloting within ASTM and limited comments remain to be resolved, according to participants. They expect remaining approval steps to be completed at ASTM meetings in Chicago next week, paving the way to include the pathway the next time the organisation revises its D7566 aviation fuel standard.

ASTM was not immediately available to confirm the news.

The organisation typically confirms pathway approvals when it updates its standard. Honeywell expects the public update to come in July, Honeywell UOP president Rajesh Gattupalli told Argus.

New aviation fuel pathways must undergo extensive testing and review before they can be approved. The MTJ process has taken several years.

The approval removes one of the main technical barriers facing MTJ and allows the sector to focus on project economics and investment decisions. Until now, lack of ASTM approval has held companies back from taking commercial decisions.

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The licensor sees most MTJ traction in Europe, where mandates have been spurring demand for SAF, and in China and India, where producers can benefit from strong potential in renewables, he said.

Some companies plan to make biomethanol from biomass-derived syngas, while others eye e-methanol from renewable hydrogen and captured CO2. Some hybrid projects would make a mixture of both. READ MORE

Excerpt from Global e-Fuels: Globally, e-Methanol is set to be the base for around 80% of e-Fuel production by 2030, with targets for around 400,000 barrels a day by 2035; MtJ broadens the current feedstock base to make this possible.

However, almost no offtake agreements have been signed to date. With the EU aiming for a 5% e-SAF share by 2035 (35% by 2050), and timelines being three-to-five years between investment decision and production start, the industry is urgently calling on this gap to be addressed in the upcoming Delegated Acts revision. READ MORE