Praj Industries, a global leader in bioenergy and sustainable technology solutions, has achieved a global milestone in sustainable aviation fuel with its ethanol-to-jet breakthrough.
It used Axens Jetanol technology at its fully integrated Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) demonstration plant at Praj Matrix, its R&D center—signalling a major leap forward in the global transition to low-carbon aviation fuels.
The announcement was made by Maneesh Kumar, Joint Director General, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, during Wings India 2026, India’s premier aviation industry platform. He was joined on stage by Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, DG of DGCA, and key SAF ecosystem stakeholders, including Atul Mulay, President Bioenergy Business, Praj, and Siddharth Saha, MD Axens India, during the Roundtable on SAF chaired by Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The Integrated SAF demo plant, inaugurated earlier by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, has now proven its readiness for both Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ) pathways. After validating bio‑isobutanol as feedstock, the plant has now confirmed bio-ethanol as a viable feedstock for the EtJ route, strengthening Praj’s versatile SAF technology portfolio.
Axens, a global provider of process technologies, catalysts, and services for cleaner fuels, has partnered with Praj to advance SAF through the AtJ pathway, licensing its Jetanol technology and providing technical support.
This achievement makes Praj the first company globally to offer a fully integrated, end-to-end solution for AtJ, covering both isobutanol and ethanol. Validated at demo scale and ready for commercial deployment, Praj’s solution integrates Axens’ proven technology with its own engineering and execution capabilities.
The technology converts ethanol into drop-in SAF compliant with ASTM D7566, fully compatible with existing aircraft engines and infrastructure, accelerating the shift to low-carbon aviation. Praj has already demonstrated real-world SAF deployment in India, supplying SAF for India’s first commercial passenger flight powered by SAF-blended aviation turbine fuel on an AirAsia India Pune–New Delhi flight.
Founder Chairman Pramod Chaudhari commented: "We are committed to advancing science-led, scalable solutions that support the decarbonisation of the hard-to-abate aviation sector, energy security, and global climate goals.
"With our indigenously developed integrated solutions now proven across both Alcohol-to-Jet and Ethanol-to-Jet pathways, Praj is well positioned to support Oil Marketing Companies and other stakeholders such as ethanol producers (both, sugarcane and grain based) through flexible deployment models, including bolt-on solutions to existing assets as well as greenfield projects, enabling faster and scalable production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in line with emerging mandates."
Quentin Debuisschert, CEO and Chairman of Axens, added: "The successful demonstration of the Ethanol-to-Jet pathway via Axens Jetanol™ technology represents an important milestone for the SAF value chain. By combining Praj’s engineering capabilities with Axens’ proven, market-ready technologies, we are jointly accelerating the deployment of reliable and scalable ETJ solutions.
"Our long-standing experience in process design, catalyst development and technology licensing enables us to support producers with derisked pathways as they move towards higher SAF output and increasingly demanding regulatory frameworks."
Sustainable Aviation Fuel is recognized globally as a key solution to reduce aviation’s lifecycle carbon emissions, with aircraft manufacturers and airlines preparing for broader adoption. According to IATA, global SAF demand could exceed 500 million tonnes (600 billion liters) by 2050, with feedstock availability, technological readiness, and capacity creation being critical to success.
Collaborative initiatives are already shaping India’s SAF landscape. Praj, IATA, and the Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) signed an MoU to drive SAF certification and adoption, focusing on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of SAF from Indian sugarcane via EtJ.
Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior VP Sustainability and Chief Economist, said: "Sustainable Aviation Fuel is essential to achieving aviation’s net-zero ambitions and will require rapid scale-up supported by policy certainty, feedstock availability, and rapid technology development and use. Collaborative initiatives across the value chain, such as those bringing together airlines, fuel producers and technology providers, are critical to translating SAF ambitions into commercially viable supply."
Deepak Ballani, DG of ISMA, added: "India’s potential for SAF production is both significant and strategic. Assessments referenced by ICAO indicate that the AtJ pathway presents the largest SAF opportunity for India and represents the next natural progression of the Indian sugar industry following the successful Ethanol Blending Programme.
"Building on this foundation, the recent ISMA–Deloitte ‘India’s SAF Roadmap’ highlights the potential of the sugar sector to produce 3.5–4 billion litres of SAF annually from 1G bioethanol alone, within an overall national SAF production potential of 16–19 billion litres by 2040.
"This positions India to not only meet its domestic SAF blending requirements, but also to emerge as a competitive global SAF export hub. Leveraging India’s strong ethanol infrastructure through the AtJ pathway will be critical to unlocking this opportunity, and long-term policy certainty will help industry scale investment and production."
