Europe’s 1st commercial eSAF plant moves closer to reality as Metafuels selects McDermott for Rotterdam project
December 15, 2025
One of Europe’s leading SAF innovators, Metafuels, has awarded construction firm McDermott a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for its synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) plant in Rotterdam.
Metafuels designed the Turbe plant as the first commercial facility in Europe to produce eSAF. The company will construct the plant at the Evos terminal in the Port of Rotterdam. It will utilise Metafuels’ high-yield methanol-to-jet technology, ‘aerobrew,’ and serve as a blueprint for large-scale eSAF production across Europe.
The first phase of the large-scale SAF production facility is expected to produce 10 tonnes of eSAF per day at the site in 2028. This will be followed by the company bringing a 100-tonne-per-day production plant into operation by 2031.
Metafuels is also developing its largest project to date, named Scaletta, in Spain. On completion (around 2032), it will be able to produce 100 tonnes per day of SAF.
Metafuels advances eSAF production
Saurabh Kapoor, CEO of Metafuels, said that selecting Metafuels marks a “defining moment” in the company’s journey towards scalable eSAF production. The new facility will complement Metafuels’ demo plant, which Metafuels has already installed at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland.
“With the implementation of our demonstration plant at PSI and Turbe advancing towards final investment decision (FID), we are steadily industrialising our aerobrew technology,” continued Kapoor.
How Metafuels is working towards Europe’s SAF targets
“Europe has set ambitious decarbonisation targets – and with project partners like McDermott and Evos, we are building the capacity needed to make those targets achievable.”
A key part of Europe’s strategy to decarbonise aviation, the EU ReFuel Aviation mandate aims to cut emissions by increasing the use of SAF. The EU introduced the mandate under its Fit for 55 package and requires fuel suppliers at EU airports to blend a minimum share of SAF into jet fuel. This started at 2% in 2025 and will rise to 70% by 2050. The mandate also includes specific targets for synthetic fuels in a bid to support Europe’s transition to a more sustainable aviation sector.
With around 480 billion litres of SAF capacity required each year by 2050, Metafuels is focused on producing eSAF made via the e-methanol route, which uses sustainable electricity as the primary energy source.
McDermott’s role in the construction of Metafuels’ SAF plant
“The Turbe plant is a bold step toward decarbonising aviation through the commercial deployment of Metafuels’ aerobrew advanced SAF technology,” said Rob Shaul, McDermott’s senior vice president of Low Carbon Solutions.
McDermott will perform basic engineering and design services to define and optimise the technical specification of the plant, as well as cost estimating services.
“Our unrivalled front-end development capabilities, deep technical expertise and proven delivery of full-cycle SAF solutions ensure flexibility while prioritising implementation to bring the concept to fruition,” he added.
The FEED for the Rotterdam facility marks a pivotal technical milestone and a significant upfront investment to de-risk Metafuels’ project and advance it towards FID. Meatfuels intends the Turbe facility to serve as a template for future large-scale e-SAF production, aligning with EU and global regulatory frameworks, including ReFuelEU Aviation and CORSIA, both of which call for a rapid increase in SAF blending from 2030 onward.
