Sugar factories in India may soon use co-electrolysis to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The Indian government has been informed of this possibility and is said to be open to it. As we all know, electrolysis is the science of using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
In co-electrolysis, CO2 is introduced to produce ‘syn gas,’ which is simply a mixture of carbon monoxide & hydrogen. Syngas (also known as syncrude) is a fundamental building block for a variety of carbon-based chemicals, including aviation fuel. However, heat-requiring co-electrolysis is only possible with solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) technology and not with others such as polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis.
Co-electrolysis, like electrolysis, is an age-old technique that is making its way out of textbooks and into the industry. H2e Power System, a Pune-based company, has been attempting to promote SAF production through co-electrolysis. If its plans come to fruition, a few sugar plants in Maharashtra, or an organization such as the Vasantdada Sugar Institute in Pune, could set up plants to produce SAF, which is in high demand.
H2e Power has been manufacturing solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) for nearly a decade, a technology developed in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute of Germany and for which it holds patents. A SOEC that generates hydrogen from electricity is the inverse of a SOFC that generates electricity from hydrogen.
India has approximately 3.3 GW of co-generation plants, and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy estimates that the co-generation potential in India’s 550 sugar mills is approximately 14 GW.
Siddharth Mayur, Founder-President and CEO of H2e Power, told Quantum that it makes business sense for sugar plants to produce SAF. As he explained, today, dozens of sugar plants generate power (and steam) by burning bagasse. These co-generation plants receive 6-8 per kWhr under power purchase agreements, the majority of which are about to expire, rendering such high tariffs unsustainable in the future. Sugar plants can use the electricity generated by SOECs to produce syngas through co-electrolysis. Making SAF from syngas is simple – the Fischer-Tropsch process for producing various hydrocarbons from syngas dates back to the 1920s and, incidentally, was extensively used by Germany to produce fuels during World War II.
According to Naiknavare, producing SAF would be a profitable move for the sugar industry because electricity prices from co-generation plants are unsustainable. “If you don’t do this, you might have to shut down the co-generation plants,” he warned.
It has been learned that 4-5 pilot plants will be built in the near future. When the plants are proven to be successful, the “sky is the limit,” according to Naiknavare.