Decarbonisation Technology November 2025 Issue

One hundred years of Fischer-Tropsch: Part 1

The Fischer-Tropsch process continues to evolve, driven by innovation in catalyst design, reactor engineering, and feedstock flexibility

Dan Carter, Richard Pearson, and Andrew Coe Johnson Matthey James Paterson bp

T he decarbonisation of the transportation sector, particularly in aviation and marine applications, is an important component of the global transition to net-zero emissions. Synthetic fuels derived from eligible feedstocks offer a viable pathway to reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining high energy density and performance (IATA, 2025 ). This two-part series presents the development and commercialisation of the FT CANS technology, a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) system co-developed by Johnson Matthey and bp. By integrating advanced catalyst design with a novel reactor architecture, FT CANS enables the scalable and efficient production of synthetic fuels from a variety of carbon sources. Introduction: transitioning transport to low-carbon fuels As global energy demand continues to rise, the need for renewable and sustainable energy sources becomes increasingly urgent. The European Union has raised its renewable energy target to 42.5% by 2030 ( European Commission, 2023 ), introduced its Fit for 55 package targeting emissions reductions of 55% by 2030 ( European Commission, 2021 ), while many countries plan to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles by 2040 or earlier ( ICCT, 2021 ). However, the transportation sector, particularly aviation and marine transport, remains one of the hardest to decarbonise due to its high energy density fuel requirements, which are not easy to substitute with current renewable technologies.

In the meantime, there is a real need for scalable fuel alternatives with reduced lifecycle carbon emissions. This includes continuous innovation and improvement in renewable fuel technologies to meet EU and global climate targets. For more than two decades, Johnson Matthey (JM) and bp have collaborated to develop an efficient reactor system and catalyst for the FT process ( Font Freide, Collins, Nay, & Sharp, 2007 ), ( Gamlin, Hensman, Nay, & Sharp, 2004 ). This technology offers an effective way to convert a wide range of carbon sources into high-quality, synthetic, liquid hydrocarbon fuels, supporting the transition to a low-carbon future. Unlocking carbon value from waste Currently, the world consumes approximately 60 million barrels of transportation fuel each day ( bp, 2024 ), mostly derived from crude oil. Each barrel contributes 350-400 kg of carbon dioxide (CO₂) ( US EIA, 2024 ) over its lifecycle, highlighting the urgent need for alternatives. Meanwhile, vast amounts of carbon-rich waste, such as municipal solid waste and residual woody biomass, are landfilled, incinerated, or left to decompose, with methane or CO being released into the atmosphere. These sources collectively emit billions of tonnes of CO₂ and methane annually ( Wang, et al., 2024 ). Rather than allowing this carbon to escape, it can be captured and converted into synthesis gas (syngas) through gasification, reforming, or CO₂ capture followed by reverse water gas shift (RWGS). This syngas can then be used to produce synthetic fuels, potentially reducing lifecycle CO 2 emissions by up to 80% and