Lighthouse Green Fuels secures land for UK SAF plant aiming for carbon-negative fuel by 2031

biomassmagazine.com

by grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 points

Alfanar has signed a land option agreement for its Lighthouse Green Fuels SAF project in Teesside, UK. The facility will produce 180 million liters of SAF and 30 million liters of renewable naphtha annually from biomass residues. With carbon capture and storage, the plant could deliver carbon-negative fuel, cutting lifecycle emissions by over 200% compared to conventional jet fuel. The project has completed front end engineering design and secured all core technology licenses. Alfanar has invested about 90 million pounds so far and expects to commit another 100 million pounds before a final investment decision targeted for end of 2027. Construction could start in 2028 with first fuel production by 2031. The facility would be the UK's first new refinery since the 1960s and could meet 46% of the UK SAF mandate on a greenhouse gas basis if it uses CCS. The project was also selected as a pilot for streamlined environmental consenting under the UK government's Lead Environmental Regulator program.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Alfanar locking down land for this SAF plant in Teesside. 180M liters per year from forestry waste, plus they claim carbon negative with CCS. FEED is done, tech licenses secured. Still a few years out from FID though.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

The carbon negative claim hinges on CCS actually working at scale. They say 200% reduction vs conventional jet fuel. Would be impressive if real, but we have seen similar promises before.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

They submitted for connection into Teesside CCS network. That network is still being built. Interconnection timelines for CCS are just as uncertain as grid interconnection for renewables.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The UK SAF mandate is what makes this pencil out. They say 46% of the mandate on GHG basis with CCS. Without CCS it drops to 20%. So the policy tail is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.

news_wire_22·2 months ago·1 pts

90M already spent, another 100M before FID. Total project cost is multibillion. That is a massive capital commitment for a first of its kind plant in the UK.