Up to £2.4 million has been secured from the government to fund progress on the green jet fuel refinery being developed on the South Humber Bank.
Velocys Plc has been successful in the Green Fuels, Green Skies competition run by the Department for Transport, with £1.2 million received and the same again pledged subject to policy development progress for sustainable aviation in Westminster.
Altalto, a £350 million development across Port of Immingham from a significant share of the UK’s oil refining capability, will convert hundreds of thousands of tonnes of residual waste.
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It follows an earlier grant of £934,000 from the Future Fuels for Flight and Freight competition, this round’s predecessor.
Henrik Wareborn, Velocys chief executive, said: “We are very pleased to have this enhanced level of support from the Department for Transport for the Altalto project. The momentum for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK and around the world is growing, demonstrated here by the recent consultations on the path to net zero aviation and on a SAF mandate.
“This grant demonstrates that the Altalto project is a key part of the strategy to accelerate a SAF industry in the UK.”
A collaboration with British Airways, the plant proposed for an industrial development zone at Stallingborough was granted planning consent in spring 2000.
It is described as being ready to proceed to the final stages of engineering prior to construction, subject to the policy progress as highlighted in the award, and to third party project funding.
Sean Doyle, British Airways chairman and chief executive, said: “We’re delighted that this project has received support from the Government’s Green Fuels, Green Skies competition, which is critical in helping us to drive forward the development of sustainable aviation fuel in the UK. Plants like this one would be a game-changer for our industry, not only delivering sustainable aviation fuel, but also creating hundreds of highly skilled jobs while increasing economic growth around the UK.
“Our parent company, IAG, was the first European airline group to commit to powering 10 per cent of its flights with sustainable aviation fuel by 2030 – purchasing one million tonnes of SAF each year, equivalent to taking a million cars off Europe’s roads every year. Projects like this one are part of our journey to that SAF target and we look forward to pushing it forward.”
It comes as a Velocys partner in Japan, Toyo Engineering Corporation, starts the advanced engineering and design phase of a commercial scale biofuel refinery.
It will integrate Velocys’ Fischer Tropsch technology and other process technologies to efficiently convert woody biomass into SAF, following a successful first commercial flight.
Alongside Altalto, Oxford-headquartered Velocys is also developing the Bayou Fuels project in Natchez, Mississippi, USA.
The past month has seen the share price increase 18 per cent, with an early nine per cent lift on today's announcement.
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