News Roundup March 2026

EUROPE:

UK project development and technology company Equilibrion and Rolls-Royce SMR have signed a MoU to collaborate on a technical and economic assessment to better understand the opportunity for nuclear-powered SAF using small modular reactors (SMRs). The heat and electricity from a Rolls-Royce SMR power station is well suited to industrial processes that require consistent energy inputs, such as hydrogen production and synthetic fuel synthesis, say the partners. Equilibrion’s proprietary modular system Eq.flight aims to produce commercial-scale power-to-liquids (PtL) eSAF from electricity and heat. The two companies believe their two technologies have the potential to produce over 160 million litres of SAF per year per Rolls-Royce SMR, meeting around a third of the UK’s 2040 PtL target.

Carbon market company CFP Energy Group has completed a sustainable aviation fuel certificate (SAFc) transaction for an undisclosed global corporate seeking to address emissions from business travel and logistics. CFP, which is positioning itself as an active market participant, said it structured the transaction to ensure “robust governance, recognised registry alignment and straightforward implementation” for the corporate buyer. “Corporates are looking for solutions that are credible, scalable and commercially workable,” commented Axel Vanmeulder, SAFc Lead at CFP Energy. “Our role is to make SAF participation practical while helping bring the liquidity needed to accelerate market adoption.”

French SAF technology company Axens has signed a MoU with Airbus on a collaboration around the development and deployment of SAF. The partners will engage in structured discussions on technical aspects of SAF pathways “to enhance their shared understanding of current and future technologies, reinforcing ongoing exchanges between their technical teams.” In parallel, they will explore how to support wider SAF deployment by aligning advocacy efforts, engaging with key stakeholders and identifying potential opportunities where coordinated action could accelerate project development worldwide. They will also look into areas where they could collaborate on regional market analysis and consider joint initiatives that could help de-risk and speed up SAF production scale-up.

SAF accelerator Future Energy Global has partnered with voluntary carbon market company Climate Impact Partners to bring SAF Certificates (SAFc) to market, so enabling companies to address Scope 3 emissions from business travel and cargo transport while allowing airlines and SAF producers to scale up the use of SAF. Through a book-and-claim system, in which certificates are independently verified and tracked, businesses can finance SAF production and claim its environmental benefits, even without directly controlling the fuel used on flights. “Our partnership with Future Energy Global strengthens the solutions available to our clients and we’re already seeing strong interest in integrating SAFc into net zero strategies,” said Sheri Hickok, CEO, Climate Impact Partners.

Norsk e-Fuel has signed a MoU with Aurora Infrastructure to cooperate on the development of the former’s Project Rauma in Finland. The partners will explore a model in which Aurora designs, finances, builds, owns and operates the electrical infrastructure for the planned eSAF plant. They say the separation of energy infrastructure from fuel production will allow Norsk e-Fuel to concentrate on its core expertise in developing power-to-liquid plants “while supporting stronger overall project economics”. Added Norsk’s CCO, Lars Bjørn Larsen: “By partnering, we can reduce capital intensity in the project, improve returns and focus fully on developing and constructing the fuel production plant.”
 

AMERICAS:

Dimensional Energy and Idemitsu Americas Holdings have formed a new strategic collaboration to advance business opportunities in North America for a range of carbon-neutral products, including SAF. Dimensional Energy is a licensor of syngas and synthetic hydrocarbon catalyst technology capable, it says, of converting any carbonaceous feedstock into high-performance hydrocarbons.


AFRICA:

Aviation Week reports Kenyan startup Bleriot Group is planning to start commercial production of SAF in 2027 and so become one of the first to produce the fuel in Africa. The company says potential demand will be driven by a new mandate that Kenya is looking to introduce requiring air operators to blend 1% of SAF with conventional jet fuel. It is currently producing small quantities of SAF using a pilot reactor in its plant in southern Kenya and is investing in a second-generation model that is planned to come on stream by year-end. Bleriot is also promoting a modular SAF production concept involving small-scale manufacturing units built on-site for customers.


ASIA-PACIFIC:

Singapore-based SAF blending technology company FlyORO has joined SAF standards organisation the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). FlyORO’s patented AlphaLite technology delivers operational capability for decentralised blending across the SAF supply chain, from upstream production sites to near-airport integration points without, says the company, compromising traceability or control. As demand aggregation mechanisms such as book-and-claim continue to grow, says FlyORO, physical SAF deployment is an essential component of the system. “FlyORO’s membership of the RSB reflects a shared commitment to the transparency and integrity that credible SAF markets require,” commented Julia Fidler, RSB’s Executive Director.

EcoCeres has launched Project Spark, a SAF pilot programme in mainland China that will include a pilot implementation of China’s independent SAF sustainability certification scheme. The programme is in collaboration with the Second Research Institute of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CASRI), China National Aviation Fuel Group (CNAF), China Southern Airlines, Air China Cargo, Sichuan Airlines and Huarong Chemical. It establishes a fully integrated, closed-loop SAF model, linking production, blending, flight use and environmental credit certification. Another highlight is the pilot use of Anchor Trace to allocate Scope 1 emissions reductions to airlines and Scope 3 reductions to corporate customers.

SAF technology provider Axens has joined a project developing a pre-FEED study for an Australian e-fuels plant under the Franco-Australian Indo-Pacific Centre for Energy Transition (FACET). The pre-FEED has been in development by Downer Group, CEA and H2Potential since early 2025 and is scheduled for completion in April 2026. The plant will produce e-fuels for the aviation and maritime sectors.