Chinese researchers have developed a catalyst that converts synthesis gas into sustainable jet fuel – a breakthrough that could boost production, help meet net-zero carbon goals and yield a gross profit margin exceeding 50 per cent. The team verified the efficacy of the chemical catalyst in a thousand-tonne pilot test and found that combining woody biomass-derived synthesis gas, or syngas, with the cobalt-manganese catalyst enabled the “highly efficient synthesis of jet fuel”. Based on a techno-economic analysis that modelled a planned 100,000-tonnes-per-year jet fuel plant, the researchers estimated they could achieve a gross profit margin surpassing 50 per cent.“The excellent pilot test results and the positive techno-economic and life-cycle assessments underscore its strong potential for industrial deployment,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications in September.