Assessment of Tools and Methodologies for LCA and TEA of Advanced Biofuels: a preliminary case study on the SUN-PERFORM project

The aviation sector, responsible for about 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, is one of the hardest to decarbonize. A promising short-term solution is represented by Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs). However, the integration of SAFs into the system still faces several limitations, including high costs and limited feedstock availability. Despite these challenges, several policies and organizations, such as ICAO and EU commissions, are promoting their adoption. In this framework, the SUN-PERFOM project aims to solar fuel technologies, which currently face challenges such as low solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency (SFE ~0.50 %), low production rates and high investment and production costs. The project, through technological innovations and bio-engineering solutions, tries to overcome some of the existing limitations by producing lipids from microalgae. These lipids can be converted into SAF through ASTM-approved pathways. Furthermore, the use of microalgae offers additional advantages, as they can be cultivated in both freshwater and saltwater, on non-arable land, and are capable of producing high lipid yields (up to 65-70% of dry biomass). Since this technology has not yet reached commercial scale (TRL 4-7 ), a preliminary Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) plays a key role in identifying the project’s hotspots and different scenarios will be analyzed to evaluate the potential of alternative solutions. To enhance competitiveness and sustainability, the project also includes co-product strategies based on waste valorization. Environmental impacts will be estimate, and in particular the potential reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossils. For a more comprehensive study, a Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) will be performed to estimate the costs of technology development and its potential benefits. This will allow the recognition of the main cost drivers and economic constraints, providing inputs for strategic decision-making. The final goal is to achieve a harmonized LCA and TEA that balances both environmental and economic dimensions. In addition, sensitivity analyses will support the identification of trade-offs between sustainability and feasibility. As the project is in its early stages, this study provides a baseline to be refined with consortium data. The analysis indicates that the largest contribution comes from energy consumption, in particular in the photobioreactors, underscoring the need to reduce its energy demand, or adopting a more energy-efficient configuration. Nevertheless, this analysis provides an initial benchmark, and further reductions are expected with the implementation of the proposed innovations, thereby enhancing its commercial competitiveness.