Metafuels receives 1.92 million euros from the Dutch government

(CONNECT) Metafuels can continue the development of its Turbe project in the port of Rotterdam with a grant of 1.92 million euros. According to a statement from the Adliswil-based company, the Dutch state innovation agency Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland is making this available for the construction of a plant for Aerobrew, Metafuel's synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF). The facility is being built in the port of Rotterdam on the site of the Amsterdam-based company Evos, which specializes in the storage of liquid energy sources and chemicals.

Turbe will be the first commercial deployment of Metafuels' proprietary methanol-to-jet technology and is designed as a blueprint for future large-scale plants. In phase 1, this plant will produce 10 tons of synthetic aviation fuel from green methanol every day from 2028. Phase 2 starts three years later. Production is then to be ramped up to at least 100 tons per day.

"The project benefits from Rotterdam's world-class infrastructure and is in line with Europe's goal of scaling up low-carbon fuels through initiatives such as ReFuelEU Aviation," Metafuels said in the statement. "This funding supports important development activities on our scalable, cost-effective path to decarbonizing aviation."

The innovative catalytic system is based on advances in nanotechnology and forms the heart of Aerobrew. The technology was validated by Metafuels together with the Paul Scherrer Institute in a pilot plant to be commissioned in 2025 on its premises in Villigen AG. The Federal Office of Energy is funding the project with CHF 4.4 million.

In February 2026, Metafuels received 24 million dollars in a financing round. At the time, CEO Saurabh Kapoor said: "With Aerobrew, we are creating a way for airlines to reduce their CO2 emissions without changing their operations. It has the potential to fundamentally change the future of air travel." ce/mm