News Roundup May 2026

Sustainable refining and biofuels technology company Axens has signed a three-year commercial collaboration with US-based SAF producer XCF Global aimed at supporting the market development of Axens’ proprietary HEFA technology, called Vegan. Axens will continue to license its Vegan process worldwide directly to customers, while XCF Global may independently offer project development, construction and operational services, drawing on its experience in developing and operating a commercial Vegan unit in the US.

Turkish engineering firm Altaca has been contracted to supply its CatLiq hydrothermal liquefaction technology to UK startup Firefly for its planned SAF facility, which will use biosolids as a feedstock. Altaca’s technology can convert sewage sludge into crude oil, which Firefly says is a crucial step in the biofuel production process and the final link in its SAF supply chain. The company says it will source raw material for this first project from UK water companies, addressing large-scale waste disposal challenges. Chevron Lummus will provide the technology for downstream refining, with Wizz Air having signed a 15-year offtake for the finished fuel.

At its first international SAF conference in Vietnam, the Asia SAF Association (ASAFA) signed two institutional agreements with state bodies. The first MoU was signed with the Agency for Innovation, Green Transition and Industry Promotion (IGIP), a body under Vietnam’s Ministry and Trade, which establishes a strategic framework covering SAF capacity building, technical knowledge transfer and policy development support. The second was signed with the Da Nang Innovation Startup Support Centre that aims to position Da Nang as a hub for SAF innovation through co-organised events, expert networks and workforce development.

Essar Energy Transition reports it has successfully finished the pre-engineering design phase (Pre-FEED) of its planned SAF facility at the Stanlow refinery in northwest England. The next stage of detailed engineering work is expected to begin later this year, with a final investment decision targeted for 2028. Intended to be one of the UK’s largest SAF production plants, it could produce more than 200,000 tonnes of fuel each year, using around 550,000 tonnes of renewable and bio-based methanol feedstock. The project would be integrated into the existing Stanlow refinery, allowing the fuel to be blended and distributed through existing fuel pipelines and transport systems serving major UK airports.

Future Energy Global (FEG) has completed a SAF environmental attribute transaction with Japanese trading and investment company ITOCHU Corporation. Under the book-and-claim transaction, ITOCHU supplied SAF to an airline at Tokyo Narita Airport and provided the environmental attributes of that fuel to FEG. The transaction was registered on the Assure SAF Registry, a digital inventory management and registry platform operated by 4AIR for tracking, verifying and enabling the transfer and retirement of physical fuel, as well as SAF environmental attributes.

Boeing has procured 20,000 tonnes of permanent carbon dioxide removal through London-based Supercritical after reviewing more than 200 projects worldwide that had been assessed against a 118-point scientific vetting framework for additionality, permanence, measurability and operational readiness. The portfolio consists of six suppliers across Brazil, Bolivia, Namibia and India, spanning both biochar and enhanced rock weathering. The Boeing portfolio includes Exomad Green (Bolivia), Ground Up (India), NetZero (Brazil), InPlanet (Brazil), Varaha (India) and PlanBoo (Namibia). Boeing will apply carbon removal credits to address its residual Scope 3 – category 6 emissions associated with business travel.

Eurocontrol and the European Commission have released an enhanced version of their NEATS platform to help improve monitoring of the non-CO2 climate impacts of aviation. The platform is designed to support the implementation of the EU Emissions Trading System by making it possible to track non-CO2 aviation effects, including contrails and nitrogen oxides (NOx). With this latest release, the third, the platform makes it possible for aircraft operators, accredited verifiers and competent authorities to complete the entire MRV workflow directly within a single, integrated system. New functionalities include end-to-end MRV workflow within the platform; streamlined annual reporting capabilities; integration of additional data sources; and selection of MRV scope and calculation method.

The Greenpeace-funded investigative journal Unearthed claims a major US producer and supplier of SAF to the UK aviation market has sourced beef fat, or tallow, feedstock that is linked to illegal Amazon deforestation. Unearthed says Diamond Green Diesel (DGD) has sent regular shipments of its SAF to the UK since January 2025 and says DGD imports tallow from a Brazilian rendering factory that has been supplied by a slaughterhouse operator linked in multiple court cases to illegal deforestation. The journal says there is no suggestion DGD was aware of deforestation at farm level but that it indicates a traceability gap in the feedstock supply chain.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched a new Deferred Payment Platform on the IATA Aviation Carbon Exchange in partnership with Xpansiv and Mercuria. This will provide airlines with more flexibility and security in meeting their CORSIA obligations, says IATA. Airlines will now be able to purchase CORSIA Eligible Emissions Units (EEUs) at an agreed price and defer payment at a later date, as far out as December 2027. Credits will be transferred on the day of sale and held in ACE/Xpansiv escrow services until payment.

UK electric aviation smart charging startup Aerovolt has secured its first business aviation customers – Oxygen Aviation, Oriens Aviation, SaxonAir and AV8JET – for its new Electric Book & Claim (EBC) product that is designed to replicate the carbon accounting model used in sustainable aviation fuel. The customers will adopt EBC as part of their ESG strategies. Through EBC, verified emissions savings, equivalent to SAF certificates, are attributed to electric aircraft operations rather than jet fuel use. Through Aerovolt’s charging infrastructure and network platform, purchasers can track flight hours, energy use and charging activity in an integrated, end-to-end system.

The boom in ultra-cheap online shopping is not only putting growing pressure on the global air cargo system, but also raises urgent questions about its environmental impact, according to the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport UK (CILT UK). With air freight among the most carbon-intensive forms of transport, it questions whether consumers should be paying more to help offset the environmental cost of fast, low-value deliveries. Instead of shipping goods in bulk, overseas companies are sending millions of low-cost items by air to keep delivery fast, says CILT UK, which risks undermining wider aviation sustainability goals and efforts to reach net zero.