Velocys welcomes the newly published Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, which has confirmed UK Government support for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) as it seeks to “put the UK at the forefront of aviation technology to push forward low carbon travel.”
In its call to action, the Government has said this can be achieved “by taking immediate steps to drive the uptake of sustainable aviation fuels”, and the country should use its COP presidency as an opportunity to take a global lead in the development of a domestic SAF industry. SAF, says the publication, “is one of the key steps to success that we can unlock” in the decarbonisation of the sector.
Policy commitments contained within the document include a £15 million competition to support the production of SAF in the UK, building on the success of the Future, Fuels for Freight and Flight Competition, of which Velocys has been a beneficiary. Moreover, the Government announced its intention to consult on a SAF mandate to create a market-led demand for these innovative fuels. The increased commitment to carbon capture and storage is also important, since Velocys can use that in combination with the production of SAF to drive down emissions further.
Commenting on the Ten Point Plan, Henrik Wareborn, CEO of Velocys, said:
“We welcome the Government’s recognition of the essential role sustainable aviation fuels will play in decarbonising aviation, including the Prime Minister’s mention of synthetic fuels as part of his vision for a cleaner Britain.
“Altalto, our planned waste-to-jet-fuel facility in North East Lincolnshire, could be fuelling transatlantic flights in just five years’ time with no need to modify aircraft or engines at all – but we need the right Government support to make this happen, and as such the policy development announced in the Plan is an important step forward.
“Our technology, already demonstrated at commercial scale, forms part of an integrated solution which can cut lifecycle carbon emissions of aviation fuel by 70%. By incorporating Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, we can even enable the production of negative-carbon-emissions fuels, making the Government’s vision for a net zero flight across the Atlantic a reality this decade.”
A new report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in collaboration with McKinsey & Company has confirmed that Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) presents the most viable, ‘here and now’, green technology available in the decarbonisation of aviation with synthetic fuels being made from sustainable feedstock.
The report, Sustainable Aviation Fuels as a Pathway to Net-Zero Aviation, has been produced as part of WEF’s Clean Skies for Tomorrow initiative. It confirms that “a transition to SAF is within reach”, with no changes to existing aircraft or airport infrastructure required, and enough sustainable feedstock available to fuel this shift. “SAF is the most achievable and most effective pathway to reduce aviation’s lifecycle emissions in the immediate future,” says the report.
As developers of the UK’s first waste-to-jet-fuel plant, Altalto Immingham, Velocys will be at the forefront of the roll out of SAF both nationally and internationally, fuelling the future of air travel.
Commenting on the publication, Henrik Wareborn, CEO of Velocys, said: “The World Economic Forum’s new report demonstrates there is a clear path for aviation to cut its emissions significantly through the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
“Altalto, our planned facility in North East Lincolnshire, will be the first waste-to-jet-fuel facility of its kind in the UK, taking hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste per year which would otherwise have gone to landfill or incineration to produce SAF that considerably reduces both greenhouse gas emissions and exhaust pollutants from commercial aviation.
“The report confirms that there is ample solid waste feedstock available at a global level to supply projects like ours, and shows that aviation can be provided with enough SAF to meet long-term decarbonisation goals without the use of food crops and without causing land use change.”
The full report can be found here.
Velocys was pleased to present to industry colleagues at the BioRenewable Deployment Consortium (BDC) and give an update on company projects which convert woody biomass to jet fuel in the United States.
Jeff McDaniel, Velocys’ Vice President New Projects, provided an appraisal of the flagship Bayou Fuels facility located in Mississippi, which will make sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from woody biomass and renewable natural gas. Project updates included recent optimisation work which has identified an opportunity to utilise renewable natural gas as a co-feed that will materially increase production and returns, and reduce capex intensity.
He went on to outline the important role of carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) at Bayou Fuels, which Velocys’ has partnered with industry leaders Oxy Low Carbon Ventures to implement and will result in the production of net negative carbon intensity fuels.
Updates were also given on recent successes in Velocys’ woody biomass to jet fuel technology being licensed and demonstrated at commercial scale internationally, including with Toyo Engineering in Japan and Redrock Biofuels in Oregon.
It is expected that Bayou Fuels will be producing fuel at commercial scale by the middle of the decade, and will be the first in a series of biorefineries developed by Velocys in North America.
A recent review from industry coalition Sustainable Aviation, of which Velocys is a member, has confirmed that the UK could be home to up to 14 sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production facilities across the country.
As the UK’s first commercial waste-to-jet-fuel plant, Velocys’ planned Altalto facility is the most advanced, here-and-now example of green aviation technology. Sustainable Aviation’s research identifies Humberside, where Altalto will be located, as a key cluster for the development of this new domestic industry. The region could establish itself as the global hub for fuelling future air travel.
Across the UK, the 14 SAF production facilities would have the potential to generate an annual gross added value of £929m, creating 6,500 jobs and saving 3.6 million tonnes of CO2.
The research shows that it is possible to deliver on the Government’s Jet Zero ambition and transform aviation using readily available feedstocks with innovative technology and existing aircraft. The Altalto project on the Humber could fuel this transformation, cutting carbon emissions and creating jobs in the process.
To read Sustainable Aviation’s submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review in full, please see here.
As a member of the Clean Skies for Tomorrow (CST) initiative, a coalition of leading airlines, airports, manufacturers and fuel providers working together to find solutions to reach net zero emissions from global aviation by mid-century, Velocys has given its support to a new joint policy proposal from the group to accelerate the deployment of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in Europe.
European members of the CST have recommended the following package of policies to support the technological development and early deployment of SAF and drive up SAF demand:
Commenting on the publication, Henrik Wareborn, Velocys CEO, said:
“The analysis of the Clean Skies for Tomorrow initiative shows a robust, realistic path to net zero aviation, mainly through sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Velocys’ Altalto Immingham waste-to-jet-fuel project, the first of its kind in the UK and Europe, offers a SAF supply solution that is ready now and an example for future projects. But this vital industry can only develop with the policy support advocated by the CST.”
To find out more about the Clean Skies for Tomorrow coalition and the report, please view:
https://www.weforum.org/projects/clean-skies-for-tomorrow-coalition
Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum, representing areas from Scotland to Bristol, to Cornwall and Northern Ireland, gathered in Westminster Hall to emphasise the important work that needs to be done to achieve net zero emissions from aviation and the crucial role that sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) will play in decarbonising this transport sector.
Debate organiser, Andrew Selous MP, discussed Velocys’ Altalto Immingham project, highlighting its status as the first such project in Europe, and noting the recently received planning consent and the projection to begin producing fuel by 2025.
Shadow Green Transport Minister Kerry McCarthy also referred to the work that Velocys is doing on sustainable aviation fuels, saying that they are pioneering production in the UK and that there is a lot of exciting work currently being done on SAF.
Responding on behalf of the Government, the new Aviation Minister, Robert Courts, said, “The council will drive the ambitious development and delivery of new technologies and innovative ways to cut aviation emissions, utilising multiple perspectives and bold new thinking.” This included establishing SAF production facilities in the UK.
Velocys is represented on the Government’s Jet Zero Council and looks forward to participating in the upcoming Council meeting where members will continue to drive progress on SAF and aviation decarbonisation.
The debate can be viewed in full here.
Velocys took part in the 9th World Waste to Energy and Resources Summit, exploring advances in project development, finance and technology in waste to energy and resources markets globally.
Dr Neville Hargreaves, Velocys Vice President Waste to Fuels, hosted a roundtable with industry colleagues on the topic of: ‘Is now the right time to invest in more environmentally beneficial solutions for waste such as conversion into fuels and chemicals’, as well as taking part in a panel discussion on the topic of: ‘Transport Fuels: Could this be the most valuable resource to me produced from waste?’
The panel, on which fellow speakers included Rachel Solomon Williams from the Department for Transport, concurred that aviation is a natural option for residual waste through the waste-to-jet-fuel process, as enabled by Velocys’ technology. There was agreement that the industry has the solutions and market role out would be the next logical step.
Velocys’ involvement in the conference is demonstrative of the direction of travel the energy from waste industry is moving in, and the prominent role that waste-to-jet-fuel can play ahead.
For information about the World Waste to Energy and Resources Summit, please see here.
Velocys has been featured in an article in the Financial Times, as part of a piece reporting on the aviation industry’s call to progress the development of sustainable aviation fuels.
The article, Aerospace executives warn on need to press green fuel use, quotes Velocys chief executive Henrik Wareborn as saying that the UK has an opportunity to take a lead in the global market for SAF, following publication of research from industry group Sustainable Aviation that identifies Humberside as a possible location for a SAF industrial cluster.
Velocys’ Altalto plant, which earlier this year received planning permission to be built in Immingham, would be at the centre of this Humberside cluster. The article quotes Henrik Wareborn as saying that “The region has a fantastic opportunity to establish itself as the global hub for fuelling future air travel.”
For the full Financial Times article, see here.
Velocys was delighted to appear at the world’s first ever Net Zero Festival, taking part in a panel discussion on the topic of ‘Prepping Net Zero Flight for Take Off.’
Henrik Wareborn, Velocys CEO, told the virtual audience that “what we can do here and now, today, is replace fossil jet fuel with synthetic jet fuel that doesn’t require us to drill for more crude oil.” He went on to outline the substantial environmental benefits of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), including net greenhouse gas savings of 70% for each tonne of conventional jet fuel displaced, up to 90% reduction in particulate matter from aircraft engine exhausts and almost 100% reduction in sulphur oxides.
The importance of SAF in industry decarbonisation efforts was supported by other panellists, including Paul Stein, CTO of Rolls Royce, who agreed “we need a call to arms globally to create the economic and regulatory conditions to encourage the ramp up of SAF”. Whilst John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow said that “the key change is switching to SAF, and we really need to have a massive injection of energy and investment if we are going to reach net zero by 2050.” He went on to call Velocys a “pioneer” in the sector.
Henrik Wareborn raised the potential use of mandates to encourage SAF usage both nationally and globally, on which John Holland-Kaye added that “the idea of a mandate for the proportion of SAF used in flights is very important and sends a demand signal,” with panellists agreeing that consistency is needed at an international level.
Whilst other technologies were discussed, the panel agreed that in the context of medium and long distance flight, the need to substitute fossil kerosene with SAF would be essential in the decarbonisation of aviation ahead. As the UK’s most advanced SAF project in development, Velocys has an essential role to play in the aviation sector reaching its 2050 net zero goals in the years ahead.
For more information on the Net Zero Festival, please see here.
The Government’s Jet Zero Council, which is designed to fast track zero-emission aviation through a partnership between government and industry, has held its inaugural meeting and published its key aims.
In order to accelerate progress towards green aviation, the council will promote the development of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), such as those enabled through Velocys’ technology.
One of the council’s three focuses is:
“establishing UK production facilities for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and commercialising the industry by driving down production costs”.
Among its objectives is:
“accelerate the design, manufacture, testing, certification, infrastructure and commercial operation of zero emission aircraft and aviation systems in the UK through sustained investment in applied research and development (R&D) and fostering greater collaboration across sectors”.
Commenting on this progress, Aviation Minister Robert Courts said:
“Climate change is one of the greatest challenges faced by modern society, and we know we need to go further and faster if we’re to make businesses sustainable long into the future. That’s why we’re bringing together government, business and investors to reduce emissions in the aviation sector – through innovative technologies, such as sustainable fuels … we will build a cleaner, greener and more sustainable future for all.”
Further details on the Jet Zero Council’s membership and aims can be found here.