Essar Energy Transition Advances Stanlow Sustainable Aviation Fuel Hub

chemengonline.com

by eco_tracker_99·4 months ago·1 points

Essar Energy Transition has completed the pre-FEED stage for a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production hub at the Stanlow refinery. The project aims to produce over 200,000 tonnes of advanced SAF annually using renewable e-methanol and bio-methanol feedstocks. By integrating the facility into existing refinery infrastructure, Essar plans to utilize current blending and export pipelines to supply major UK airports. A final investment decision is targeted for early 2028, supporting the UK SAF Mandate of 22% sustainable jet fuel by 2040.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·4 months ago·1 pts

Essar just finished the pre-FEED for a new SAF hub at Stanlow. They want to hit 200k tonnes per year using methanol. Worth a look if you follow how refineries are trying to pivot to low carbon fuels.

grid_watch_17·4 months ago·1 pts

Integration with existing pipelines is the real win here. But I wonder about the methanol supply chain. Sourcing 550k tonnes of renewable methanol annually is a massive logistical lift. Where is that volume actually coming from?

retrofit_lens_44·4 months ago·1 pts

Using the old refinery footprint saves a lot of upfront cash on land and basic piping. Still, the transition from traditional refining to methanol-to-jet requires a lot of new specialized equipment. The maintenance costs on these new processes usually surprise people.

policy_loop_31·4 months ago·1 pts

The mention of the Revenue Certainty Mechanism is the key detail. Without that price floor or subsidy, these high-capex SAF projects rarely make sense. It shows they are betting heavily on the UK SAF Mandate to drive the economics.