The technology company behind a planned jet fuel refinery on the South Humber Bank has welcomed government proposals on supporting and financing the development of the industry.
Velocys chief executive Henrik Wareborn said a consultation paper issued as part of a raft of environmental and energy measures on a Westminster day of action will help support the realisation of its £350 million Altalto Immingham facility. It is described as building on the recent grant awards, with the company netting £27 million for the project it has partnered with British Airways on.
Hydrogen wins were also revealed as the Humber came to terms with missing out on initial Track One inclusion for carbon capture and storage, an industrial Net Zero solution it had hoped to lead the world on.
Read more: £15b of investment at risk as Humber carbon capture plans stall at government selection stage
Mr Wareborn said: “Velocys’ technology is immediately ready to support commercial scale production of sustainable aviation fuel with ultra-low carbon intensity and input from a range of feedstocks.
“There is a clear groundswell of legislative and policy support for the use of sustainable aviation fuel with the Inflation Reduction Act in the US, the ReFuelEU initiative in Europe and now this news from the UK. This level of government support is critical, so that industry and policy can work in parallel and at speed to reduce emissions. There is still a need for a clear mechanism to ensure price stability for SAF, but the proposed mandate is an important step in the right direction.
“This news further underpins the investment case for our Altalto reference project in Immingham. The project will put the UK firmly at the forefront of the global move to decarbonise the aviation sector.”
The Government has confirmed its desire to establish the UK as a global leader in the development, production and use of SAF by creating secure and growing SAF demand, kickstarting a domestic SAF industry and working in partnership with industry and investors to build long term supply.
Yesterday’s consultation comes amid growing support for decarbonisation and further supports the UK Government’s ambition of reaching net zero by 2050 and its Jet Zero strategy. A gasification plus Fischer Tropsch process has been identified as the main pathway to sustain SAF uptake to 2030 and beyond, with Velocys’ patented FT process described as “well positioned to fulfil this demand”.
“The proposed SAF mandate offers a guaranteed level of demand and creates a long-term requirement to supply SAF, provides incentives to SAF producers in the form of tradeable certificates and signals the vital role SAF will play in the future of UK aviation,” Mr Wareborn said, of the detail. “The tradable certificates are intended to close the gap between the cost of jet fuel and the cost of SAF, with additional certificates awarded in proportion to avoided carbon dioxide emissions.
“The proposals in this consultation will help support the ongoing development and financing of the company’s Altalto Immingham reference project.”
Due to begin commercial operation in 2028, the biorefinery is expected to be one of the first commercial scale waste-to-jet fuel facilities in the UK. It will convert more than half a million tonnes per day of commercial, industrial and municipal solid waste into 20 million gallons per year of sustainable fuel, with an overall lifecycle emissions saving of more than 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year - equivalent to taking 140,000 cars off the road.
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