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reFuel.ch 5th Round Table Highlights Policy, Investment, and Technology Challenges for Sustainable Fuels

On March 5th, representatives of the SWEET reFuel.ch initiative joined around 70 participants for the fifth Round Table in Winterthur. The event brought together researchers, industry experts, and policymakers to exchange insights on emerging energy technologies and market developments in sustainable fuels.
March 5, 2026
Lively discussions at a poster session brought researchers, industry experts, and policymakers together in Winterthur.
Lively discussions at a poster session brought researchers, industry experts, and policymakers together in Winterthur.

The meeting gathered approximately 30 representatives from the public and private sectors and 40 researchers from the SWEET consortium, creating a dynamic platform for exchange between academia, industry, and policy stakeholders.

Following an inspiring keynote by Transport & Environment, participants engaged in lively discussions on current and future challenges across the sustainable fuels landscape. Interactive “market stall” sessions invited deeper dialogue among participants, strengthening the link between innovation, regulation, and real-world application.

A key topic was pyrolysis technology, which is considered one of the most dynamic and rapidly evolving fields, with several demonstration plants already operational worldwide. While both industry experts and representatives from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) acknowledge its potential, it is currently expected to play only a limited role in Switzerland’s future energy mix. Participants also addressed certification frameworks and the trading of Guarantees of Origin in emerging market hubs. Discussions spanned areas such as Power-to-X pathways, plastic and methane pyrolysis, fuel import challenges, synthetic fuels policy analysis, and country risk evaluation.

Financial aspects sparked particular interest. Despite promising technologies, high investment risks and mismatched contract durations continue to challenge market growth. Many participants emphasized the need for de-risking instruments such as Contracts for Difference.

Policy and geopolitical considerations added another layer to the dialogue. Reliance on fuel imports, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandates, and competition with sectors like road transport remain pressing issues. While biofuel startups may initially target less regulated markets, participants noted that a clear policy framework and stronger investment incentives will be essential for wider SAF adoption.

Finally, the discussions emphasized the indispensable role of science in driving industrial innovation. Academic institutions provide advanced analytical tools and robust modeling capabilities, delivering data-driven insights that inform decision-making from feasibility studies through to implementation. Their ability to act as neutral facilitators across these phases makes academic partners essential in accelerating the translation of innovation into industrial practice.

See the documentation of the 5th round talbe here: Link

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Research Paper on global cost drivers for low-carbon fuels in Energy & Environmental Science
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Global cost drivers and regional trade-offs for low-carbon fuels: a prospective techno-economic assessment

Low-carbon fuels (LCFs) such as green hydrogen, synthetic hydrocarbons, and biofuels are critical for decarbonizing sectors that are difficult to electrify. In this study, we present a globally harmonized techno-economic assessment of 21 LCF production pathways, including power-to-X, biomass- and sun-to-liquids, and multiple hydrogen routes, evaluated across all countries under three future scenarios for 2024, 2030, and 2050. The model integrates spatially explicit resource data, learning-driven capital cost trajectories, and dynamic, country- and technology-specific costs of capital, supported by robust scenarios and uncertainty analysis. By 2050, median levelized costs are projected to range from 0.07 to 0.10 EUR2024 per kWh for green hydrogen, 0.15 to 0.18 EUR2024 per kWh for power-to-liquid kerosene, and 0.14 to 0.20 EUR2024 per kWh for most bio-based aviation fuels, reflecting both substantial progress and persistent regional disparities. Our results show that while innovation, technology learning, and deep power sector decarbonization can unlock cost-competitive electrofuels in countries with abundant renewables, bio-based routes are frequently cost competitive for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production in near-term scenarios, and solar-to-liquid fuels remain constrained by feedstock availability and capital barriers. Nuclear- and methane-based hydrogen emerge as primary options in many regions, as well as the dominance of turquoise hydrogen in Russia, the Middle East, and Central Asia where carbon management is viable, which highlights the context-specific nature of future LCF systems. We also found that the least-cost logistics for global hydrogen trade will shift from ammonia shipping to pipeline transport and methanol delivery, with North Africa and Iberia emerging as leading suppliers to Europe. These findings underscore the need for integrated innovation, policy coordination, and investment strategies that address both resource and financial barriers, in order to achieve scalable, resilient, and cost-effective LCF supply chains worldwide.
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Research paper Active Phase–Support Interaction in Phosphotungstic Acid-SiO2 Catalysts Enables Enhanced Olefin Oligomerization to Synthetic Fuel in ACS Catalysis
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Active Phase–Support Interaction in Phosphotungstic Acid-SiO2 Catalysts Enables Enhanced Olefin Oligomerization to Synthetic Fuel

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