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IN DEPTH: Waste to Aviation Fuel - Time for Take-off?
500,000 TPA FACILITY IN THE PIPELINE AS BA, VELOCYS & SHELL TEAM-UP2020-01-07 15:49:16
IN DEPTH: Waste to Aviation Fuel - Time for Take-off?
While a previous project didn’t quite achieve take-off, the airline has now teamed up Altalto Immingham, a subsidiary of Velocys, and Shell on a plant to turn 500,000 TPA of MSW into jet fuel.
From BEN MESSENGER
2019 Issue 6 Waste to Energy
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veolcys, waste, recycling, aviation, fuel, shell, british, airways© British Airways
For some years now, British Airways has been involved in plans to develop a large-scale waste to aviation fuel facility in the UK. While a previous project didn’t quite achieve take-off, the airline has now teamed up Altalto Immingham, a subsidiary of Velocys, and Shell on a proposal for a plant that will turn 500,000 tonnes per year of MSW into jet fuel.
It’s no secret that aviation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Globally the industry is responsible for around 2% of carbon emissions. In the UK it’s around 7%. While some had predicted that a ‘Greta effect’ may lead to reduced demand for air travel, in reality it continues to grow. One potential route to mitigating the environmental impact of that growth is the use of renewable fuels, and in that regard, waste could be the ideal feedstock.
British Airways’ collaboration with Velocys was first announced in September 2017 and in August this year Altalto Immingham Limited, a subsidiary of British sustainable fuels technology company Velocys and a collaboration with project co-investors British Airways and Shell, submitted a planning application to develop what is expected to be Europe’s first commercial-scale household and commercial solid waste to sustainable fuels plant in North East Lincolnshire.
The site is near Immingham, close to the Humber Estuary. The plant would take over half a million tonnes each year of non-recyclable household waste otherwise destined for landfill or incineration, and convert it into 60 million litres of clean-burning sustainable jet and road fuel each year.
Altalto secured the site, called Portlink 180, in December last year. It is currently vacant and consists of approximately 80 acres of land in North East Lincolnshire surrounded by existing industrial buildings. Situated in the Humber Enterprise Zone on the banks of the Humber Estuary, the site is earmarked for industrial development within North East Lincolnshire Council’s Local Plan. Immingham and the surrounding ‘Energy Estuary’ is also known for fuels production expertise and has a skilled local workforce that Altalto believes can help deliver this project.
“The submission of the planning application marks a major milestone,” says Alex Cruz, British Airways Chairman and CEO. “Sustainable fuels can be a game-changer for aviation which will help power our aircraft for years to come. This development i