McDermott has been awarded the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the Turbe project, a first-of-its-kind synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF) production facility to be developed at the EVOS terminal in the Port of Rotterdam.
The Turbe plant will represent the first commercial deployment of a methanol-to-jet technology designed to produce drop-in e-SAF compatible with existing aircraft and fueling infrastructure. The facility is expected to play a key role in enabling scalable and cost-efficient aviation decarbonisation across Europe.
The FEED phase is the final engineering stage prior to a final investment decision (FID). Under the contract, McDermott will carry out basic engineering and design activities to define and optimise the plant’s technical specifications, along with associated cost estimation services.
The project marks a significant step forward in progressing from technology demonstration to industrial-scale deployment. As part of this development pathway, a methanol-to-jet demonstration plant with a capacity of 50 liters per day has been installed at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland, while FEED activities for the Rotterdam facility advance toward FID.
The commencement of FEED represents a major technical and commercial milestone, involving a substantial upfront investment that helps de-risk the project and move it decisively toward execution. This progress supports Europe’s objective of establishing a reliable and cost-effective e-SAF supply base ahead of regulatory mandates.
The Turbe facility is expected to serve as a blueprint for future large-scale e-SAF developments aligned with EU and global frameworks, including ReFuelEU Aviation and CORSIA, which call for a significant increase in sustainable aviation fuel blending from 2030 onward. The project is positioned to ensure commercial-scale e-SAF availability in time to meet these requirements, supporting the transition toward a lower-carbon aviation sector.
Source: McDermott