Advances in metabolic engineering for the production of sustainable aviation fuels
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Fink, Nicolas
de Freitas Naves, Laura
Gamboa-Meléndez, Heber
Ledesma-Amaro, Rodrigo
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are critical for decarbonising the hard-to-abate aviation sector, which significantly contributes to global CO2 emissions. Conventional SAF production routes, such as Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids, Fischer-Tropsch and Alcohol-to-Jet, offer drop-in compatibility but are constrained by feedstock availability, high costs and environmental impacts. This review highlights, as promising alternatives, microbial bioproduction via precision fermentation of SAF-relevant compounds from low-cost feedstocks, with reduced land use and enhanced circularity. Here, we focus on microbially derived SAF precursors such as alcohols, terpenes, fatty acid ethyl esters, methyl ketones and saturated hydrocarbons, as well as recent advances in host engineering, pathway design, and bioprocess optimisation.
Date Issued
2026-08-01
Date Acceptance
2026-06-01
Citation
Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 2026, 100
ISSN
0958-1669
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal / Book Title
Current Opinion in Biotechnology
Volume
100
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/42235104
PII: S0958-1669(26)00088-1
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
103523
Date Publish Online
2026-06-03