SAF’s a Baldwin! Hello! We clue you in on why we’re totally following UFT’s Flexforming SAF tech and its progress 

I read earlier today an assertion that SAF costs seven times as much as jet fuel, and it reminds me the world is still pretty clueless about SAF’s progress. As if the U.S. Navy’s $2.18-per-gallon order with AltAir back in 2016 didn’t happen. Now, with new technologies like Universal Fuel Technologies’ fascinating Flexiforming process making real advances, I’m not sure how easy it will be to get clued in. Which is why I’ve asked Cher Horowitz of Clueless fame to start us off today.

Guest Voice: Cher Horowitz

So, OK, like right now, the whole airline industry is, like, totally bugging about emissions. They’re all, “What about the carbon, what about the cost?” And I’m like, hello? If I can host a sit-down dinner and still squeeze in extra guests who didn’t RSVP, surely you guys can figure out how to party with Sustainable Aviation Fuel.

And speaking of parties — you know how the new kid shows up at school, tray wobbling, wondering where to sit? That’s Universal Fuel Technologies right now. Their Flexiforming® fuel just got into the ASTM Clearinghouse, which is basically, like, the dress code committee for jet engines. And I’m just saying — why does everything have to blendperfectly to sit at the cool table? Strain? We’re aviation! We can fly a jumbo jet halfway around the world but we can’t handle a little variety in the punch bowl? As if!

But this tech? Ugh, it’s such a Betty. It works with ethanol, methanol, naphtha, LPG — like the one outfit that looks amazing in class, at practice, and at the party. And it makes fuel cheaper and cleaner without even trying too hard. So, obviously, everyone’s going to wear it.

Anyway, I’m late for a mani-pedi, so I’ll leave this to you.

Back to the Cafeteria

Thanks, Cher. Let’s step back into aviation’s cafeteria without the hair scrunchies. The metaphor still holds: Sustainable Aviation Fuel has to blend in perfectly before airlines let it join the table. That’s what ASTM’s D4054 process is all about — proving a new fuel can be a true drop-in replacement. Universal Fuel Technologies has just crossed that first threshold, with its Flexiforming® SAF accepted into the Clearinghouse.

This isn’t a mere paperwork shuffle. It’s the gateway to every jet engine, pipeline, and airport tank farm on the planet. No ASTM acceptance, no ticket to fly. Clearinghouse entry is the moment the new kid gets a hall pass.

From Boutique Couture to Everyday Wear

You’ve heard the number: SAF costs seven times as much as fossil jet fuel. But that’s boutique pricing — a designer label stuck on a tiny batch. The U.S. Navy proved in 2016 that scale changes everything, when AltAir delivered tens of millions of gallons at $2.18 a gallon. Secretary Ray Mabus himself made the point: with steady contracts and serious offtake, SAF can be everyday wear, not couture.

Flexiforming pushes in that direction. By re-engineering the ethanol-to-jet chemistry, it eliminates the wardrobe changes. Conventional ETJ hops from one reactor to another, compressing and refrigerating gases along the way. Flexiforming integrates dehydration, oligomerization, and alkylation in one vessel. Result: energy consumption drops by 75%, from 19 kBTU/gal to just 3. Hydrogen demand falls by a third. No precious metals in the catalyst.

That’s the hoodie-and-cap solution — simple, versatile, and impossible to overdress.

Hanging with All the Cliques

Flexiforming doesn’t just cut costs. It gets along with everyone. Ethanol, methanol, naphtha, LPG — all are welcome feeds. It can even upgrade byproducts from HEFA and Fischer–Tropsch plants into aromatic SAF. That’s key, because jet engines demand aromatics for seal compatibility. Flexiforming makes them naturally, no hydrogen detour required.

From every 1,000 units of ethanol, the process yields 490 units of SAF, plus renewable gasoline, propane, and fuel gas. Nothing wasted, everything useful. In cafeteria terms: this isn’t the kid who only talks to the band kids. This is the one who gets nods from the jocks, the nerds, the theater crowd — and brings snacks everyone actually wants.

The Clearinghouse Nod

Dr. Zachary West, director of the Clearinghouse, noted that acceptance means strong potential to complete the ASTM journey. Translation: the new kid didn’t get bounced at the door. Next steps: larger batches, Tier 1 and Tier 2 tests, then the long climb toward full ASTM approval. If all goes well, Flexiforming could be ASTM-qualified by late 2026, first as a blend component, and eventually — the endgame — as a 100% synthetic jet fuel.

A Decade of Prep

Flexiforming didn’t just appear with a makeover montage. It’s been a decade in the lab, with 30 patents, more than 6,000 hours of testing, and a pilot plant in Crosby, Texas. The process already proved itself upgrading fossil naphtha before being tuned for SAF. Washington State University’s BSEL lab screened Unifuel’s SAF samples and found them sound.

This is not a last-minute cram. It’s a slow build toward credibility.

Market Runway

The International Air Transport Association projects SAF production could reach 119 billion gallons by 2050. Unifuel’s serviceable slice by 2030: $175 million in revenue, $90 million EBITDA. Early traction includes a paid demo with a major energy company, a signed LOI for a 6,500 barrel-per-day ethanol-to-SAF plant, and negotiations with a Fischer–Tropsch partner.

These aren’t varsity-level numbers yet, but they’re enough to get noticed in the cafeteria.

Redefining What’s Cool

High school movies always end the same way: the cafeteria hierarchy shifts. The new kid not only finds a seat but resets the style everyone else wants to follow.

That’s the bet with Flexiforming. It doesn’t force airlines to change their engines. It doesn’t demand exotic feedstocks. It slides into the system, cuts energy costs, widens the product slate, and makes SAF look less like a boutique experiment and more like everyday gear.

In an industry where most fuels still wear the same gray uniform, Flexiforming shows up in the hoodie and cap, fits in everywhere, and may just set the trend for the next decade of flight.