News Roundup October/November 2025

The UK Department for Transport has published statistics for the first 10 months on aviation fuel supplied to the UK under the SAF Mandate, which came into effect as of 1 January 2025. Data includes the amount of UK aviation fuel from low carbon and fossil fuel, and the number of SAF Certificates which have been issued to fuel that meets sustainability requirements. According to CFP Energy, the data shows that SAF accounted for only 1.6% of UK jet fuel in the period, with the Mandate starting at 2% of total UK jet fuel demand in 2025, increasing linearly to 10% in 2030 and then to 22% in 2040. It adds that almost all certified SAF so far comes from HEFA fuels based on used cooking oil (UCO) from Asia, and only a single certificate trade has been recorded to date. “Certification delays and a heavy reliance on UCO from Asia underline how fragile early progress remains. With the HEFA cap coming into force in 2027, supply diversity and scalable production will be critical if the UK is to meet its long-term blending targets,” commented Axel Vanmeulder, Renewable Fuels Expert at CFP Energy.

SITA, Amadeus and the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization (AACO) have come together to explore how data and technology can bring greater accuracy and transparency to aviation’s sustainability efforts. The initiative “represents a concrete step towards helping airlines and passengers make informed decisions based on the environmental impact of air travel, and building the trust needed to support meaningful climate action,” said the partners. The collaboration pairs SITA Eco Mission, which draws on real aircraft performance and operational data to deliver accurate emissions and fuel-burn calculations, with Amadeus Travel Suite, which aggregates carbon emissions calculations from multiple recognised sources and standards.

Global engineering firm Alfanar Group has confirmed plans to move its Lighthouse Green Fuels SAF facility in Teesside, UK, to a neighbouring, larger site, which the company says offers closer access to key infrastructure, space for expanded on-site processing, and future growth. Due to come online in 2030, Alfanar claims the £2 billion ($2.6bn) project is one of the largest of its kind in the world. It will convert 1.5 million tonnes of sustainably sourced biomass feedstocks – including forestry, sawmill and agricultural residues – into more than 180 million litres of second-generation SAF annually. The facility will be close to carbon capture and storage infrastructure, providing the opportunity for integration into the network when online. Alfanar said this would enable SAF to be produced with a 200% lifecycle emissions reduction compared to conventional jet fuel and enough to meet 11% of the UK’s 2030 SAF mandate.

Texas-headquartered SAF producer XCF Global has appointed Chris Cooper as CEO, succeeding Mihir Dange. Cooper was formerly President of Neste U.S. (North America), where he led strategy, operations and stakeholder engagement, and previous to that was Head of Renewables Trading at energy and commodities trading company BGN. A professional pilot, he has also held senior leadership roles at Phillips 66 and Chevron.

NXTClean Fuels has chosen Topsoe as the technology licensor for its new SAF and renewable diesel facility at Port Westward, Oregon, which the company claims is the largest greenfield SAF and renewable diesel project in the US. NXTClean Fuels will utilise Topsoe’s HydroFlex, SynCOR and H2bridge technologies and catalysts to produce up to 50,000 barrels per day (750 million gallons per year) of SAF and renewable diesel. Taken together, Topsoe says the technologies will significantly reduce the carbon intensity of the fuels produced. The project has secured State of Oregon permits and is advancing through federal permitting. Subject to final investment decision, the facility is expected to be operational by 2029.

OXCCU, an Oxford University spin-out startup converting waste carbon and hydrogen into sustainable aviation fuel, has become the first SAF company to receive funding through the UK government’s Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Non-CO2 Programme. The £1.8 million ($2.3m) grant will be used to investigate the non-CO2 effects of its OXFUEL synthetic crude, with the project running from July 2025 to June 2027. The focus will include soot particles, which can cause cloud formation at altitude and therefore impact global warming, though the amount of warming (or cooling) these particles cause is subject to ongoing research.

The EU-funded ECO2Fuel project and its partner RWE Power claim to have made a major breakthrough by successfully demonstrating a closed carbon loop system that integrates synthetic e-fuel generation, CO2 capture and recycling, and heat reuse, which shows that carbon can be reused rather than emitted. “The carbon capture technology developed by ECO2Fuel converts CO2 to sustainable synthetic gaseous and liquid e-fuels, without relying on hydrogen or critical raw materials,” said the project’s coordinator, Faria Huq, at Germany’s DLR. “These e-fuels can serve as starting material for synthetic aviation and transport fuels, while the renewable energy generated during electrochemical CO2 conversion can be used for different applications, for example, for backup power generation. Our target of achieving a system CAPEX of 400-600 €/kW will enable cost-competitive e-fuel production.”

A report by climate think tank Carbon Tracker Initiative (CTI) says that while “truly sustainable” alternative jet fuel will play a role in decarbonising aviation, it is likely to be smaller than currently believed and unlikely to provide a near-term solution. Even if all under-development and announced projects ran at capacity, they would only displace 5% of fossil jet fuel by 2030 and would not keep up with growth in jet fuel consumption. Offtake commitments, a key signal of future demand, are still minimal and cover less than 2% of potential jet fuel consumption in 2030, say the report’s authors. Longer-term obstacles include costs and price premiums and regulatory uncertainty facing offtakers; lack of long-term commitments and weak bankability facing producers; and feedstock availability, feedstock sustainability and opportunity costs.

European energy logistics company Exolum has announced a £4.5 million ($6m) investment in the UK’s first independent SAF blending facility at Redcliffe Bay in southwest England. Expected to be operational from 2026, the new facility is part of wider plans for a UK-wide network of SAF blending hubs. Exolum says it is planning a 2,000km pipeline network, creating a ‘SAF Superhighway’ that will provide producers and importers with market access to the jet fuel for 40% of flights leaving the UK’s airports, including those at Heathrow, Gatwick, Bristol, Exeter and Cardiff. The project includes several infrastructure upgrades to Exolum’s existing aviation fuel pipeline storage and pumping station at Redcliffe Bay.

A report, Out of the Fryer, by SAF market accelerator Future Energy Global and PA Consulting, provides analysis of alternative feedstocks for HEFA-based SAF production, and highlights the trade-offs and opportunities for airlines, SAF producers, energy players and investors. HEFA is the most commercially mature SAF pathway, with standalone production expected to reach 10 million tonnes globally by 2030, but used cooking oil, the dominant feedstock, is facing global supply constraints and so driving up prices and creating uncertainty for SAF producers. Four alternative feedstocks, widely available in the US, are identified in the report: primary oil crops like soy-bean and canola; oilseed cover crops; animal by-products; and distillers’ corn oil.