Jet2 to invest in Fulcrum’s SAF plant at Essar Stanlow in UK
Jet2 plc, the largest tour operator and third largest airline in the UK, announced a major investment into a new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production plant to be constructed in the northwest of England, one of the first such deals in UK aviation.
Jet2 plc will invest an equity stake in the plant and expect to receive more than 200 million litres of SAF over a 15-year period, one of the longest SAF supply agreements currently.
“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,” said Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays.
“Our investment is a very clear demonstration that we are backing SAF and the UK production of SAF early. We are calling on the UK government to scale up its level of ambition and support for SAF production too. Doing this will help achieve decarbonisation of the aviation sector, stimulate uptake and seize the enormous economic opportunity here in the UK.”
The Fulcrum NorthPoint facility, which is being developed by U.S.-based Fulcrum BioEnergy Ltd, is a waste-to-fuels plant which will be located at the Essar Stanlow Manufacturing Complex in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
“This strategic, project level investment by Jet2 plc demonstrates clear commitment to the development of a UK SAF industry and further underpins Fulcrum’s leading position in the global waste-to-SAF industry. Fulcrum values this new partnership with Jet2, and we look forward to working together to successfully develop Fulcrum NorthPoint and bring low carbon jet fuel to Jet2’s increasingly fuel-efficient aircraft fleet,” said Jeff Ovens, managing director at Fulcrum BioEnergy UK.
SAF production is expected to start in 2027, and when at full capacity 600,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household waste 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 first commercial scale waste-to-fuels facility, Sierra BioFuels, located just outside of Reno, Nevada, in the United States.
The strategic positioning of the plant means that the SAF is expected to be delivered directly to Manchester Airport, using the existing jet fuel pipework infrastructure, rather than having to rely on transporting the fuel by tank truck.
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.
