First published June 12 2020
A new initiative to spur sustainable aviation has been announced by UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
At the Westminster daily briefing he referred to the Jet Zero council designed to launch the first carbon neutral aircraft into transatlantic service “within a generation”.
Shapps said the government was backing a project involving Velocys.
Velocys announced today it had received planning permission from a local council to build the first UK sustainable aviation fuels plant – which is pivotal to Jet Zero.
In partnership with British Airways and Shell International Petroleum, Velocys will convert hundreds of thousands of tonnes per year of non-recyclable everyday household and commercial waste, otherwise destined for landfill or incineration, into cleaner burning sustainable aviation fuel.
The fuel offers net greenhouse gas savings of around 70percent for each tonne of conventional jet fuel it displaces. It would also improve air quality, with up to 90percent reduction in particulate matter (soot) from aircraft engine exhausts and almost 100percent reduction in sulphur oxides.
Velocys will build its SAF plant in Lincolnshire. Velocys subsidiary company Altalto Immingham Limited applied for planning permission last year. Local council North East Lincolnshire gave the go-ahead 20th May as it will create 130 permanent skilled jobs.
Construction is targeted to begin in 2022, and the facility could be producing fuel from 2025.
Aviation Minister Kelly Tolhurst said 20th May: “It’s great to see the industry leading the way in creating new technologies to help achieve our target of net zero emissions by 2050, while also bringing new jobs to the local area.
“Innovative technologies – like the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuels – firms up the UK’s position as a leader in aviation, and shows the determination the industry has in continuing to operate, but in a more environmentally-friendly way.”
