Rowan University researchers have secured a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to develop a process that converts biomass into aviation fuel, adding one more laboratory-scale effort to a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply base that remains a fraction of global jet consumption.

The NSF-funded work at Rowan focuses on transforming biomass — organic plant material — into fuel suitable for aircraft use. The project places the New Jersey university among the growing roster of academic institutions pursuing drop-in renewable jet fuel pathways, from hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) to alcohol-to-jet and power-to-liquids synthesis.

The research addresses a structural problem for airlines. Carriers worldwide have committed to SAF offtake agreements running into billions of gallons, but production capacity has not kept pace. ASTM D7566, the standard governing synthetic blended aviation fuel, certifies several pathways, and any new biomass conversion process would need to clear that certification regime before commercial volumes reach airports.

For Rowan's team, the NSF grant funds the foundational chemistry: turning biomass feedstock into fuel molecules that meet jet fuel specifications. The leap from laboratory conversion to ASTM-certified, refinery-scale output typically takes years and requires engagement with engine and airframe manufacturers, fuel qualification bodies, and prospective airline buyers.

The stakes are economic as much as environmental. SAF currently costs a multiple of conventional Jet A, and airlines have cited limited supply as the binding constraint on decarbonization targets. Every additional certified pathway widens the feedstock pool — agricultural residue, forestry waste, energy crops — and could ease price pressure as production scales.

The grant also signals continued federal backing for alternative fuel research. The NSF invests in early-stage science that precedes Department of Energy and Department of Defense demonstration funding, which in turn precede commercial deployment. Rowan's biomass-to-aviation-fuel work sits at the front of that pipeline.

Whether the conversion process the Rowan researchers develop reaches qualification will depend on fuel performance testing, yield economics, and access to capital for scale-up — the same gates that have narrowed the field of SAF technologies to the small number now producing commercial volumes. The next milestone for the team is demonstrating that its biomass-derived fuel can be produced at yields and costs that justify scaling beyond the laboratory.