Originally Posted by
Ninthace
If you can synthesise the hydrocarbons for a piston engine surely you should be able to synthesise jet fuel. It is only paraffin after all
Yes, it's basically the same technology - carbon from the air, H2 from water. So far it's rather energy intensive and doesn't scale well, but they're working on it.
Time will tell if this turns out to be more environmental friendly and cost effective than bio based fuels (algae being a strong contender it that arena). Both have the potential for near zero net carbon, one takes large amounts of electricity, the other large amounts of space to grow the bio feedstock...