As part of its ambitious France 2030 investment plan, the French government has announced the four winning projects of the Carb Aero call for proposals — a strategic initiative to develop a domestic industry dedicated to sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
While the SAF currently used in France are primarily biofuels derived from organic matter, the country now aims to shift towards synthetic aviation fuels — also known as e-SAF — produced through advanced chemical processes using renewable electricity and captured CO₂. These fuels are seen as a key solution to decarbonise long-distance air transport, where battery technologies remain impractical.
The four winning projects are:
- France KerEAUzen, led by Engie in Le Havre (northern France)
- TAKE KAIR, led by Hynamics (EDF Group) in Saint-Nazaire (western France)
- DéZIR, led by Verso Energy in Rouen (north-western France)
- BioTjet, led by Elyse Energy in the Lacq Basin, Pyrénées-Atlantiques (south-western France)
Together, these projects are expected to produce 270 kilotonnes of synthetic aviation fuel per year by 2030. This would prevent around 750,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually — equivalent to the yearly emissions of more than 150,000 passenger vehicles. The production processes include the methanol-to-jet pathway, the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, and the BioTfuel process, which are used to manufacture e-kerosene and e-biokerosene.
In addition to their environmental benefits, these projects are projected to create 510 new jobs across France.
“This announcement places the ecological transition at the heart of France’s industrial strategy,” said Philippe Tabarot, the newly appointed French Minister for Transport. “It supports the emergence of a national ecosystem built on innovation, technical know-how and production capacity — all of which contribute to our energy sovereignty and industrial competitiveness. This marks a major step toward the decarbonisation of air travel.”
The Carb Aero initiative is part of France’s broader plan to meet the EU’s ReFuelEU Aviation targets, which require increasing the share of sustainable aviation fuels in jet fuel used across the European Union over the next decade.
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