By Alfa Shaban
The global race for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has been hard and long but might be on the threshold of a major breakthrough thanks to work by Oregon State University (OSU) in the United States.
One of its clean fuel teams is drawing international attention for breakthrough research that could help transform forestry residues and agricultural waste.
OSU’s College of Forestry is leading catalytic research in Oregon’s Clean Fuel Initiative, a multimillion-dollar program funded by the State of Oregon to develop low-carbon fuels from local biomass.
Leading the team is Dr. Alhassan Ibrahim, a Postdoctoral Scholar at OSU, whose work has already demonstrated measurable efficiency gains, making crude bio-oils cleaner and more stable for use as jet fuel.
According to experts, while raw bio-oil from forest waste is like a dirty soup that clogs machines, the research being undertaken will develop catalytic chemical helpers that clean and stabilize this oil so it can become renewable jet fuel.
With Ghana and other developing countries looking to other more sustainable and climate-friendly forms of energy, such catalytic innovations promise a low-carbon future for aviation and beyond.
“Dr. Ibrahim’s work is a game-changer for sustainable fuels,” said Prof. Gerald Presley, one of his project leaders at OSU. “He is helping Oregon lead the way in turning forest waste into renewable energy.”
The Clean Fuel Initiative is a collaborative program supported by the Oregon State Legislature (HB 3409, 2023 session), OSU College of Forestry, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
Its mission is to develop renewable, low-carbon fuels from regional biomass resources to meet state and national decarbonization goals.
Dr. Ibrahim’s findings have been published in respected journals such as Catalysts and Energies, and have already been independently cited by research teams worldwide.
His contributions were recognized with the Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award at Mississippi State University. Back home in Ghana, his works have been featured across a number of public and private news portals.
Beyond research, Dr. Ibrahim was selected to judge presentations at the 2025 FPS-SWST International Conference, a role typically reserved for senior experts further evidence of his professional standing.
Dr. Ibrahim’s future plans include scaling catalyst testing to pilot plants and working with U.S. industry partners to accelerate SAF commercialization.
