CESTAP

CESTAP is funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, with contributions from about 28 industrial partners and the three academic partners Lund University (coordinating partner), Luleå University of Technology and RISE. The vision of CESTAP is to transform the aviation and power generation sectors to run continuous combustion engines on 100% sustainable turbine fuels. CESTAP aims to establish a leading centre for research related to sustainable turbine fuels in Europe, with a specific focus on the Swedish prerequisites in terms of feedstock for future fuels. 

Sustainable future energy use rely on a shift away from fossil fuels, which in some sectors can be done with new non-combustion technologies like batteries or fuel-cells. Still, in some sectors like aviation, maritime transport, and peak-load and back-up power generation, combustion will be difficult to replace. These sectors rely relatively heavy on continuous combustion engines like gas turbines and jet engines, and they together currently contribute with close to 10% of the global anthropogenic CO₂ release.

To meet the needs of aviation and power production industries, the aim of the competence centre is to develop knowledge and technologies to produces efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective turbine fuels that ultimately can be used as true mono-fuels – completely replacing fossil fuels.

The most efficient use of resources requires a focus on sustainable turbine fuels, that can be used as mono-fuels. Compared to the present efforts spent on drop-in fuels this will be a comparatively large, but necessary, undertaking. To achieve success the development must include the full range of activities from feedstock characterization and chemical conversion process development, via fuel development and production, to engine modifications to facilitate the use of fuels with wider specifications. In this respect it is important to have a holistic techno-economic framework to evaluate concepts against. All these aspects are included in the scope of CESTAP.