Global engineering firm, Alfanar, welcomed the UK’s Transport Secretary Mark Harper MP, alongside Teesside International Airport’s Managing Director Phil Forster, to its Teesside site on Friday 26 April, the same day the UK Government announced measures to give UK aviation and the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry the certainty needed to create green jobs and cut sector emissions.
Headquarted in Saudi Arabia, Alfanar is currently developing a £1.5 billion waste-to-SAF production facility in Teesside in the UK. The facility is known as Lighthouse Green Fuels (LGF). Alfanar’s Teesside facility is the largest SAF project in Europe and could reach Final Investment Decision in 2025 and be operational in 2028.
The project, which will see everyday household and commercial waste in addition to other forms of non-recyclable waste feedstock such as waste biomass, of which there is plentiful supply being used as a feedstock. The facility will produce 175 million litres a year, the equivalent of fuelling 2,500 long-haul flights or 25,000 short-haul flights a year, whilst bringing investment to industrial areas.
Transport Secretary the Rt Hon Mark Harper MP said: “SAF protects the future of UK aviation, the thousands of British jobs that depend on it and the holidays and business travel flights that we all rely on. As part of our plan to grow the economy, the measures announced today will give UK SAF producers like Alfanar the certainty they need to keep creating skilled British jobs while giving passengers the freedom to continue travelling by air in a way that’s fit for the future.”
He was joined by Mishal Almutlaq, Alfanar’s Chief Investment Officer, who said: “The SAF mandate, coupled with a SAF revenue support mechanism can make the UK a leader in green aviation fuel production. But to deliver the Government’s target of five SAF plants under construction by 2025, the SAF revenue support mechanism needs to be introduced at pace.
Ninety years ago, Teesside led the way in producing synthetic fuels which were then used in Spitfires during WW2. With continued Government support Teesside can once again become a crucible for aviation innovation as we tackle the challenge of climate change.”
