Technip Energies, Safran, Airbus, Tereos to form green jet fuel venture in France

June 9 (Reuters) - France's Technip Energies, Safran, Airbus and Tereos have agreed to form a joint venture to develop a large-scale sustainable aviation fuel production project at the Port of Dunkirk in France, they said on Tuesday.

With jet fuel availability dwindling due to the Iran war and a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane linking the Gulf to global markets, European countries are scrambling to find alternative supplies and keep planes flying.

• The project is expected to produce roughly 160,000 metric tons of fuel per year converting ethanol from agricultural and forestry residues, the companies said in a joint statement

• Oil services firm Technip Energies will lead the development phase, while French agricultural cooperative Tereos will supply and source ethanol

• Plane maker Airbus and engine maker Safran will join as industrial partners and potential offtakers

• The four groups aim to finalise the joint venture in the second half of 2026

• The aviation industry, one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, has been trying to reduce its carbon footprint but environmental groups argue SAF adoption has so far failed to move the needle

• Airlines say Europe's green jet fuel mandates are too strict, while supply on the market is insufficient and prices too high to absorb

• A Reuters investigation last year showed that only about a fifth of SAF projects unveiled by airlines globally have materialised

(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Alessandro Parodi; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)