Jet2 plans a major investment into a new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production plant to be constructed in the North West of England – one of the first such deals in UK aviation.
The agreement will see Jet2 invest an equity stake in the plant and expect to receive more than 200 million litres of SAF over a 15-year period - which would be one of the longest SAF supply agreements currently.
The Fulcrum NorthPoint facility, being developed by Fulcrum BioEnergy, is a waste-to-fuels plant which will be located at the Essar Stanlow Manufacturing Complex in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
Production of SAF is expected to commence at the plant in 2027, and when at full capacity 600,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household waste, which would otherwise have been destined for incineration or landfill, will be converted into around 100 million litres of SAF annually.
The NorthPoint plant will use Fulcrum’s proven waste-to-fuel process and will directly benefit from the IP gained from operations of its pioneering first commercial scale waste-to-fuels facility, Sierra BioFuels, situated outside of Reno Nevada, in the United States.
The SAF produced at the NorthPoint site is expected to achieve life cycle emissions reductions of approximately 70% when compared to conventional aviation fuel, with the future potential to be fully carbon neutral.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: “Travel and tourism is a force for good and, like all industries, we know how critical it is to mitigate our climate impacts. This significant investment into Fulcrum NorthPoint’s sustainable aviation fuel production in the UK shows not only how seriously we take that responsibility, but also how committed we are to taking tangible actions to address it.
“Not only will this action help to lower our climate impacts, but it represents a major step forward in our transition to net zero too. Whether investing in SAF, spending billions on our aircraft fleet, or placing a price on every tonne of carbon we emit, we are putting sustainable travel at the heart of our business. By doing this, our customers know they are travelling with an airline and holiday company that takes its environmental impact seriously and takes substantial action to address it too.”
