Can Lignocellulosic Intermediates Extend the HEFA Infrastructure Model?
The Topsoe-BioVeritas agreement proposes a new bridge between lignocellulosic residues and existing HydroFlex assets, addressing the structural limits of the global fats, oils and greases pool.
The commercial proposition
Topsoe and BioVeritas announced an agreement in May 2026 allowing fuel producers to license the BioVeritas Process alongside Topsoe’s HydroFlex technology. BioVeritas converts second-generation feedstocks such as woody biomass, corn stover and wheat straw into intermediates marketed as KEYTones. These intermediates can then enter HydroFlex to produce renewable fuels.
The European lipid bottleneck
The European Commission workshop also identified EU lipid availability as a strategic HEFA bottleneck and concluded that no single value chain can deliver more than half of required sustainable-fuel demand. That strengthens the case for lignocellulosic intermediates, while leaving commercial proof of yield, cost and reliability as the decisive test.
The proposal is strategically important because it addresses a mismatch within SAF deployment. HEFA is the most commercially mature route, while sustainable fats, oils and greases are limited and increasingly contested.
| Feedstock base | Fats, oils and greases | Woody biomass, straw, stover and other residues |
| Infrastructure fit | Commercially mature HEFA assets | Intermediate molecule intended for existing hydroprocessing |
| Maturity | Commercial | Development and licensing pathway |
| Main risk | Limited lipid pool | Conversion yield, quality specification and hydrogen demand |
Why existing infrastructure matters
Hydroprocessing assets, hydrogen systems, product separation and refinery logistics require substantial capital. A process that supplies a compatible intermediate can potentially expand feedstock access while preserving much of an existing investment.
This architecture also allows regional biomass conversion to be separated from central fuel finishing. A distributed or semi-centralised biomass-to-intermediate network could reduce transport of low-density raw material, although the economic optimum depends on conversion yield, intermediate stability and scale.
The feedstock constraint is moving upstream
IATA’s 2025 global feedstock assessment estimated that oil-based HEFA would be the only major bio-SAF pathway likely to use almost all of its accessible feedstock potential by 2050. Agricultural and agroforestry residues provide much larger theoretical volumes, but their conversion routes require faster technology deployment.
The Topsoe-BioVeritas model therefore addresses more than feedstock diversification. It attempts to translate heterogeneous regional biomass into a refinery-compatible carbon stream.
Questions that will determine commercial performance
- Dry biomass conversion yield into KEYTones and final liquid fuel.
- Pretreatment requirements across straw, stover and woody residues.
- Enzyme, chemical, water and energy consumption.
- Hydrogen demand during final hydroprocessing.
- Fate and value of lignin and other residual fractions.
- Intermediate storage stability and transport specification.
- Capital allocation between regional conversion and central refining.
- Lifecycle carbon intensity and treatment of biogenic process energy.
What this confirms about SAF markets
The next phase of SAF is likely to rely on multiple interfaces between agriculture, forestry, biotechnology and refining. Feedstock owners may no longer sell only oils or raw biomass. They may supply engineered intermediates with defined carbon, oxygen, water and contaminant specifications.
This can create new regional value chains while also raising quality-control requirements. A refinery-compatible molecule must be supported by traceability back to the field or forest and by consistent process performance.
BEC perspective
Commercial success will depend on the complete delivered cost of carbon into the refinery. High biomass availability does not guarantee a competitive intermediate, and compatibility does not guarantee bankability.
The partnership deserves attention because it gives lignocellulosic resources a potential route into infrastructure that is already familiar to fuel producers and lenders. Demonstration of yield, operating reliability and cost at commercial scale will determine how quickly that strategic logic becomes deployable capacity.
Sources and further reading
- Topsoe, “Topsoe and BioVeritas sign agreement to accelerate second-generation renewable fuels production,” May 2026
- IATA, “Global Feedstock Assessment for SAF Production: Outlook to 2050,” September 2025
Related BEC articles
- Indonesia’s B50 Mandate Will Reshape More Than Its Domestic Diesel Market
- Brasil puede convertirse en una potencia del SAF
- Europe Has Enough Sustainable Biomass. The Missing Infrastructure Is Bankability
Bioenergy Crops provides agronomic, feedstock and project-development advice for biomass, biofuels and renewable-carbon value chains.
