OMV and the Technical University of Leoben (TU Leoben) have opened a dedicated SAF research facility in Styria that allows multiple production pathways to be tested and compared under realistic conditions in a single location — what the partners describe as a first for Europe. The facility was funded by OMV alongside Austria’s Federal Ministry of Innovation, Mobility, and Infrastructure.

The research infrastructure occupies an entire building at TU Leoben’s Chair of Process Technology and Industrial Environmental Protection. Rather than optimising for a single production route, it runs biogenic, recycled-carbon, and power-to-liquid pathways in parallel. Experimental results feed into advanced process simulation models and machine learning tools, which the partners say will accelerate development cycles, reduce scale-up risks, and identify the most cost-efficient routes to industrial production.

“Innovation and technology form the foundation of our transition to an integrated sustainable energy, fuels, and chemicals company. Sustainable fuels are a key element of this: they are already facilitating lower-carbon mobility and decisively contributing to our progress toward achieving net zero by 2050.”

Martijn van Koten, OMV’s Executive Vice President Fuels and Chemicals, framed the facility as central to OMV’s net-zero transformation strategy. Professor Markus Lehner, who leads the Chair of Process Technology and Industrial Environmental Protection, called it “a significant milestone for sustainable, climate-neutral, and affordable mobility” and said it positions Austria and the Styria region as a leading innovation hub in civil aviation.

The facility targets the core bottleneck holding SAF back: not the chemistry, but the economics. Process efficiencies are limited, production volumes are low, and costs remain well above fossil kerosene. By comparing multiple pathways under the same conditions and feeding results into simulation and machine learning models, the TU Leoben facility is designed to find which routes can close that cost gap fastest at industrial scale.

OMV generated revenues of EUR 24 billion in 2025 and holds majority stakes in Borealis (75%) and OMV Petrom (51.2%). The company has set a net-zero target of 2050 at the latest.

Source: OMV Press Release