N+P ‘actively seeking’ waste for aviation fuel deal

Alfanar has received government funding for its SAF plant in Teeside called ‘Lighthouse Green Fuels’.

The company says that when operational in 2028, the facility will turn 1 million tonnes of household and commercial waste per year into 180 million litres of SAF annually, the equivalent of fuelling more than 15,000 short-haul flights a year.

The Dutch company N+P and Alfanar announced a partnership this morning (15 May) to source this waste. N+P said that to process the waste, up to three further processing facilities will be built across the country – with locations dependent on where the waste is sourced from.

‘Actively seeking’

Lars Jennissen, chief development officer at the Dutch company N+P Group said: “Our new partnership with Alfanar enables us to take non-recyclable household and commercial waste and convert it into pellets, which can then be used to produce sustainable aviation fuel. We maximise the usage of these materials which have already had a life in the value chain.

“We are now actively looking to secure long-term waste supply contracts with waste companies and local councils from across the UK for this project, for what will be Europe’s biggest waste processing facility by tonnage. Next to this we aim to develop at least 3 new production facilities in the country in the next two years.”

N+P

N+P partners with a number of large scale waste to energy facilities in Europe and the UK. It also develops specific fuel mixes, for example for winter-time supply when special high calorific materials are required.

For the SAF plant with Alfanar, N+P says everyday non-recyclable household and business rubbish, contaminated recycling loads and MRF residues can all be sorted by N+P for use in the process, instead of “being sent to landfill, burnt in incinerators or exported”.

N+P explained that recyclable and inert materials will be removed, before the waste is dried and turned into high carbon content pellets. The pellets will then be converted into SAF at Alfanar’s Lighthouse Green Fuels facility.

Carbon savings

Noaman Al Adhami, country head for the UK at Alfanar, said: “SAF delivers 80% greenhouse gas lifecycle emissions savings compared to conventional kerosene, but fuel produced at our facility will deliver up to 200% savings with access to Teesside’s Carbon Capture and Storage infrastructure.

“This means Lighthouse Green Fuels will not only be the biggest SAF production facility in the UK when operational, but the UK’s first negative emissions SAF project, and therefore a critical contributor to the UK Government’s 2030 SAF targets.

“With the third largest aviation network in the world, a third of Europe’s carbon storage capacity, and readily available waste feedstock, the UK is perfectly positioned to be a world leader in SAF production. We look forward to making this a reality by delivering this project, and others that will follow.”