Farnborough Airport signs 12.5m litre SAF deal

Image courtesy Farnborough Airport

Farnborough Airport is already one of the largest single-site suppliers of SAF to the business aviation community, having sold over two million litres of 38% blended SAF since 2021. With the introduction of SAF mandates taking effect at the start of this year, domestic sales of SAF are increasingly being put at risk by the lack of production and investment within the UK.

The UK and the European Union have legislation-backed mandates on both the amount of SAF that must be used from January 2025 and also the way that SAF must be produced in the future. This is to ensure advanced fuels can be developed over time to support the required growth in SAF production without incentivising farmers to switch from growing food to growing SAF feedstocks. SAF today is almost entirely produced from waste cooking oil or HEFA (Hydro processed Esters and Fatty Acids), however Hydrogen Refinery’s ground-breaking technology is able to produce carbon negative SAF from a variety of mixed waste products, sourced locally or from landfill sites.

Simon Geere, CEO at Farnborough Airport, said: “We are delighted to be forging this ground-breaking alliance with e-fuels developer Hydrogen Refinery. Their patented technology has the potential to provide Farnborough Airport with enough proprietary supplies of SAF for us to become the first and only airport in the world to be offering fuel with a 20% blend across its entire supply by 2028, well ahead of the UK Government’s own target of 10% by 2030. What’s more, this is entirely consistent with our ambitions to be an incubator for the advancement of sustainable technologies, as well as being a vital commercial enabler for kick-starting the domestic refining of SAF, at scale and right here within the UK.

“The transition to new fuelling technologies like this requires markets like ours which are able to sustain the higher upfront investment costs necessary to make things happen. Farnborough Airport is in a unique position to advance this technology given the smaller-modern aircraft which we handle and the significant economic value of the flights we support. As a local company, Hydrogen Refinery exemplify the deep-rooted technological capabilities of the companies which form part of Farnborough Airport’s aeronautical research heritage and this is a fantastic example of a partnership which will generate significant local inward investment and will reinforce our ambitions to become a Global Sustainability Showcase for Airports around the world.”

This news follows a series of successful milestones in recent years at the Airport. In 2024, Farnborough Airport was awarded Level 4+carbon accreditation status by the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) scheme, one of only five UK airports and the only business aviation airport to achieve such recognition. Also last year, Farnborough Airport completed one of the largest light-weight solar installations in the South East, enabling the Airport to generate 25% of its own power. In 2022, for a two-week trial period in the lead up to the Farnborough International Airshow, Farnborough Airport became the first airport in the world to offer SAF at the same price as standard Jet A1 fuel, after it took a major step in driving the adoption of SAF by offering it to all customers the year prior. Also in 2022, Farnborough Airport made a commitment to be Net Zero by 2030 or sooner for emissions within its control, setting one of the most ambitious targets in the aviation industry.

Stephen Voller, CEO at Hydrogen Refinery, commented: “We live in a throwaway society, and waste such as mixed plastics and municipal solid waste (MSW) continues to rise despite efforts towards recycling. Hydrogen Refinery has a unique process called the plasma electrolyser system (PES) that can process mixed waste, including airline passenger food waste, into SAF. This is not only a low-cost process but is also carbon negative because the waste is processed without the emissions from incineration or landfill. We are excited to be working with Farnborough Airport to make their vision of sustainability a reality.”