by Elsie Clark | Oct 30, 2025 | Innovation, Sustainability
Honeywell have pioneered a new production process that turns agricultural and forestry waste into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Under the UOP (Universal Oil Products) Biocrude Upgrading process, inexpensive biomass feedstocks such as wood chips and sawmill dust are converted into a renewable biocrude. This can then be refined at existing petroleum refineries, with no need for further specialist facilities.
The new fuel process complements Honeywell’s existing portfolio of renewable fuels. These including Ecofining, developed in partnership with Eni S.p.A., which converts fats and oils into renewable deisel and SAF. Honeywell’s Ethanol-to-Jet (ETJ) tech turns ethanol into synethetic paraffinic kerosene, while the Fishcer-Tropsch Unicracking refines synthetic gas into liquid fuels.
Ken West, President & CEO of Honeywell Energy & Sustainability Solutions, said:
As demand for SAF continues to grow, the aviation industry is challenged by limited supplies of traditional SAF feedstocks such as vegetable oils, animal fats and waste oils.
When combined with the existing Fischer-Tropsch process, our new technology will expand the feedstock options available in the industry to sources that are more plentiful, ultimately helping improve our customers’ ability to produce SAF.
The new biomass-derived fuel puts the US company in competition with other SAF pioneers, including the Finnish brand Neste, the current leader in SAF production. The race to scale SAF is well and truly on, as demand for sustainable fuels far outpaces current supply, and cost pressures inhibit competitivity with the jet fuel market.
Join us at Aerospace Tech Week to discuss the future of sustainability in aviation operations.
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by Elsie Clark | Sep 22, 2025 | Connectivity, Innovation
Honeywell and Redwire Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding to advance the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Quantum Key Distribution Satellite (QKDSat) project.
Launched in 2024, the initiative is jointly led by the Austrian, Belgian, British, Canadian, and Czech space agencies. QKDSat aims to make satellite communications ultra-secure through quantum technology, reduce the impact of spoofing and jamming, and guarantee the secure transmission of sensitive information.
Lisa Napolitano, vice president and general manager at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, said:
By combining Honeywell’s quantum optical payload technology and experience in satellite communications with Redwire’s expertise in agile platforms and onboard quantum computing, we are bringing the promise of quantum-secured communications closer to reality.
Why is quantum communication different?
While classical cryptography relies on algorithms to encrypt data, quantum security uses principles from quantum physics, such as superposition and entanglement, to create potentially unbreakable communication channels. Additionally, quantum positioning could have a huge impact on navigation technology, representing a significant advancement on GPS.
Honeywell UK were already supporting ESA’s project, but the signing with Redwire unlocks new capabilities. Together, the two companies will launch a combined payload and platform by mid-2026.
Marc Dielissen, General Manager of Redwire Space Belgium, commented:
Quantum-enabled telecommunications could be a gamechanger for government agencies and the private sector, and our collaboration with Honeywell is focused on delivering cutting edge innovation to mitigate increasingly sophisticated threats.
Working together with ESA, the world-class team of Redwire and Honeywell leverages the strength of Public-Private Partnerships to initiate a quantum-secure space network that could set a new standard for secure global communications.
The news comes amid escalating reports of Russian interference in European airspace. Last month, a plane carrying the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was targeted by suspected Russian GPS spoofing.
Meanwhile, a September 2025 report revealed that more than a quarter of flights over Baltic airspace were disrupted by Russian interference with navigation signals in the first four months of 2025.
Join us at Aerospace Tech Week 2026, where expert panels will be discussing the future of cybersecurity in aviation, including reducing GPS spoofing and jamming.
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by Elsie Clark | Sep 16, 2025 | Avionics, Innovation
Honeywell has confirmed that their new Surface Alerts (SURF-A) cockpit technology was trialled in Kansas City, US, in late August,
SURF-A was showcased alongside Honeywell’s already-certified SmartRunway/SmartLanding (SmartX) product, in two demonstrations that recreated real-life near-collisions.
SmartX provides audio and visual clues to pilots during high-stress phases of flights, alerting them to configuration errors and wrong-surface alignments in real-time. SURF-A, meanwhile, has been specifically designed to alert pilots when traffic is on the runway. Callouts are given, and text appears on the display screen if another aircraft in the runway engagement zone presents a collision risk.
As global air traffic increases, cockpit alerts are needed to prevent accidents and close margins of error. Honeywell’s tests of SURF-A at Kansas City recreated two notable incidents from recent years: a February 2023 near-collision at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport during fog, and a January 2023 event at New York JFK where an aircraft taxied onto an active runway.
In the recreations of both scenarios, cockpit alerts warned of the traffic ahead, giving the pilots ample time to react and divert the aircraft’s movements.
Honeywell expects SURF-A certification for commercial aircraft in 2026. Southwest Airlines is currently deploying SmartX across its fleet of Boeing 737s, with more than 700 aircraft activated to date.
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