The Clearing House is led by the Energy Institute at the University of Sheffield with the support of engineering consultants, Ricardo, and it is hoped that it will “help position the UK at the forefront of decarbonising the global aviation industry”.
It has been funded by the UK Government’s Department for transport.
University of Sheffield professor Chris Lewis and director of UK SAF Clearing House, said: “It is great to see there is now a lot of activity in the development of SAF, however the increase in a diverse range of raw materials and processes means a major shift in the industry, which is both an opportunity to reduce aviation emissions and presents a challenge to get these increasingly diverse SAF products to market.
“The UK SAF Clearing House, in cooperation with the EU and US Clearing Houses, will provide technical advice and information, funding to support with testing, and help in understanding how the industry works, as well as helping producers engage with the industry in a positive way. We are delighted to announce we are open for business, so please do come and talk to us.”
Fuel
The UK SAF Clearing House is now accepting applications from fuel producers for technical support and funding towards the development, testing and qualification of sustainable aviation fuels.
New aviation fuel must meet strict performance standards before it can be qualified as safe for use in an aircraft. The fuel must be tested in accordance with industry recognised standards.
The cost and complexity of testing can be a significant barrier to new fuels entering the market. The UK SAF Clearing House will provide advice to fuel producers on testing, signpost towards testing facilities and support the qualification of sustainable aviation fuels to help overcome this barrier.
Direction
Sujith Kollamthodi, director of policy, strategy and economics at Ricardo, said: “The new UK SAF Clearing House is a step in the right direction towards a leaner and greener aviation sector in the UK. It joins other UK Government initiatives for the sector alongside the Advanced Fuels Fund, plans for a SAF revenue certainty scheme and backing for the world’s first transatlantic flight using 100 per cent SAF.”
Mr Kollamthodi added: “We are proud that Ricardo experts are applying their renowned expertise in policy, strategy and the safe implementation of new sustainable technologies to this world-leading initiative which can accelerate the decarbonisation of the global aviation industry.”
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