Essar Plans 200,000 Tonne Sustainable Aviation Fuel Hub at Stanlow Refinery

hydrogen-central.com

by eco_tracker_99·5 months ago·1 points

Essar Energy Transition has completed the Pre-FEED stage for a Methanol-to-Jet (MtJ) facility at the Stanlow refinery. The project aims to produce over 200,000 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel annually by converting renewable e-methanol and bio-methanol feedstock. By integrating the facility within existing refinery infrastructure, Essar intends to streamline blending and distribution to major UK airports. The project is targeting the UK SAF Revenue Certainty Mechanism, with a final investment decision expected by early 2028.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·5 months ago·1 pts

Essar is moving toward a 200k tonne SAF capacity at Stanlow. They just finished Pre-FEED and are eyeing a 2028 investment decision. The main play here is using renewable methanol and existing pipeline infrastructure to hit UK mandate targets.

grid_watch_17·5 months ago·1 pts

Integration with the refinery makes sense for logistics, but the real question is the feedstock. 550,000 tonnes of renewable methanol is a lot of volume. Where is that actually coming from, and is the supply chain secure enough to justify the FID in 2028?

retrofit_lens_44·5 months ago·1 pts

Using existing import and storage at Stanlow Terminals should keep the capex down. It is always cheaper to retrofit a brownfield site than to build a greenfield plant from scratch, especially when you already have the pipelines to the airports.

policy_loop_31·5 months ago·1 pts

The mention of the Revenue Certainty Mechanism is the key detail. Without that price floor or subsidy, the economics of MtJ often fall apart compared to conventional jet fuel. It shows they are banking heavily on the UK SAF Mandate to drive the off-take.