Nova Pangaea Technologies conducted the trials at its demonstration plant in Teesside, as it seeks to raise funds for its first commercial plant.
They showed continuous stable operation in production runs of up to 72 hours and achieved above target yields.
Stewart Stewart, CEO of Nova Pangaea, said: “The SAF industry is currently at a critical point. Demand is increasing and supply chain shocks such as in the Middle East show the need to find an alternative to fossil fuels, yet aviation is currently reliant on SAF from a single feedstock, which will not be enough to meet growing SAF demand.”
The UK introduced a SAF Mandate in January 2025 which creates a legal requirement for aviation fuel suppliers to increase the use of the fuel.
The industry is currently largely dependent on fuels made from waste oils and fats.
Nova Pangaea is working with British Airways and LanzaJet on “Project Speedbird”, an initiative supported by the UK government to produce carbon-negative aviation fuel from local waste biomass to decarbonise the aviation sector.
For Speedbird, Nova Pangaea will construct four UK facilities to produce bioethanol from local wastes for upgrading to SAF.
To date, Nova Pangaea has raised over £21 million from investors, including International Airlines Group, PXN Ventures, Mercia Ventures and the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
It has also received funding through a UK government grant awarded under the Advanced Fuels Fund competition.
Technical process
Nova Pangaea’s “REFNOVA” process converts waste biomass and residues, such as wood chips, sawdust or wheat straw, into ethanol.
The latest round of trials used softwood residues from timber processing, with up to three tonnes of feedstock used per day.
It follows smaller trials in early 2025 which the company said demonstrated the viability of the process outside of the laboratory.
2027 will see more trials take place as the company looks to “fine tune” the design of its first commercial-scale plant.
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