Showcasing success of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Special Interest Group

Posted on: 27/03/2019

Event to showcase the deliverables and impact of the SAF SIG during its two-year programme and how businesses have benefitted from its support.

The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Special Interest Group (SAF SIG), delivered by KTN and sponsored by Innovate UK, Department for Transport and Sustainable Aviation, helps to accelerate the domestic production of sustainable aviation fuel by connecting businesses and researchers.

Key industry players across the supply chain, from fuel producers to airlines, airports to feedstocks providers, met in Leeds recently to see the outcomes of the SIG and to hear success stories from those that have been supported.

Barry King of MeccOne Ltd commented on how SAF SIG had supported their business, in which they are aiming to build a biorefinery in Teeside for low temperature catalytic conversion technology.¬†”I’ve achieved more in the last one-and-a-half years in terms of contacts established than I have in the last ten years, all thanks to SAF SIG.”

Miloud Ouadi from the University of Birmingham presented an update on their flexJET project.¬†Set up in the 2018, this ‚Ǩ15m project, which involves three partners across five EU countries aims to build a demonstration plant converting food waste and waste vegetable oil into SAF. The SIG enabled Miloud to take part in a Mission to the USA in December 2018 to attend the CAAFI meeting (Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative). Speaking about his experience, Miloud said¬†”We’ve had such a positive experience and got to meet so many people really engaged with the industry. It was really informative and we learned a lot from it.”

Leigh Hudson is Sustainable Fuels Manager at British Airways and Chair of the Fuels Working Group at Sustainable Aviation. Leigh described how it had been a pleasure to be involved in the programme. “We see massive potential” she said. “One of the most important outcomes is the strong evidence base showing how many organisations there are in the UK working on SAF. We didn’t know this before SAF SIG.” Leigh also commented on the excellent coordination of the key players in the industry which has enabled collaborations and partnerships to flourish. She talked about her aim to strengthen coordination between the UK and US, specifically regarding fuel testing and research.

Headline outcomes:

  • 107 companies supported
  • 406 people in the SAF SIG network
  • 82 introductions made
  • 9 collaborations brokered
  • 4 companies signed NDAs with a UK airline

If you need any help, please contact Michelle Carter, Interim Head of Transport at KTN.

Watch the highlights from the event below:

Click here for video

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