The ToFuel consortium officially gathered in Graz, Austria, for its kick-off meeting, marking the start of a four-year Horizon Europe collaboration dedicated to developing innovative pathways for the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from agricultural residues.
Hosted by project coordinator TU Graz, the meeting brought together project partners from across Europe to align technical activities, establish collaboration structures and define the roadmap for the project’s implementation. The event provided an opportunity for consortium members to exchange expertise, coordinate upcoming activities and build the foundations for a successful collaboration.
Turning Agricultural Residues into Sustainable Aviation Fuel
The aviation sector faces one of the most significant decarbonisation challenges of any industry. While electrification and alternative propulsion technologies continue to develop, Sustainable Aviation Fuel is widely recognised as one of the most effective solutions for reducing emissions from air transport in the near and medium term.
ToFuel addresses this challenge by developing an integrated biorefinery concept capable of converting tomato processing residues into Sustainable Aviation Fuel while simultaneously generating valuable co-products such as fertilisers, animal feed ingredients and bio-based oils. By transforming agricultural waste streams into valuable resources, the project contributes to both aviation decarbonisation and the circular economy.
The project brings together expertise from research organisations, universities, industrial technology providers and food industry stakeholders to demonstrate innovative solutions that can support Europe’s transition towards a more sustainable and resilient aviation sector.
Establishing the Roadmap for the Years Ahead
Throughout the two-day meeting, partners presented their planned activities and discussed the technical, scientific and organisational framework that will guide the project over the coming years.
Sessions focused on the development of the project’s integrated biorefinery approach, stakeholder engagement activities, communication strategy, exploitation planning and expected impact pathways. The discussions highlighted the importance of collaboration across disciplines and sectors in addressing the complex challenges associated with sustainable fuel production.
The kick-off meeting also enabled partners to identify synergies between work packages and establish clear coordination mechanisms to support efficient project implementation.
EEIP’s Role in ToFuel
Within the ToFuel project, EEIP leads activities related to networking, stakeholder engagement and exploitation.
Our role is to ensure that project results reach the stakeholders who can help transform innovation into real-world impact. This includes engaging with industry representatives, policymakers, researchers, investors and innovation networks across Europe to support the future uptake and replication of project outcomes.
By facilitating dialogue between technical experts and market actors, EEIP contributes to creating the conditions necessary for innovative Sustainable Aviation Fuel solutions to move beyond the research phase and towards wider deployment.
Building ToFuel’s Digital Presence
EEIP is also responsible for the design and development of the official ToFuel project website.
The website serves as the project’s central communication platform, providing stakeholders with access to project information, news, publications, events and future results. Designed to support transparency, visibility and stakeholder engagement, the platform will evolve throughout the project to showcase key achievements and opportunities for collaboration.
As the project progresses, the website will play an important role in supporting dissemination activities and ensuring that knowledge generated by the consortium remains accessible to a broad audience.
Looking Ahead
The kick-off meeting in Graz marked an important milestone for the ToFuel project and the beginning of a collaborative effort to advance Sustainable Aviation Fuel production in Europe.
Over the coming years, the consortium will work together to develop, demonstrate and promote innovative technologies capable of transforming agricultural residues into valuable resources for the aviation sector. Through technical innovation, stakeholder engagement and knowledge sharing, ToFuel aims to contribute to Europe’s climate objectives while strengthening the role of circular economy solutions within the bio-based industry.
EEIP looks forward to supporting the consortium throughout the project and helping maximise the impact, visibility and future exploitation of its results.
Project Information
ToFuel – Sustainable Aviation Fuel from Agricultural Residues
Funding Programme: Horizon Europe
Grant Agreement Number: 101235233
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
