BA, LanzaJet and Nova move closer to large-scale SAF production with Project Speedbird

British Airways, LanzaJet and Nova Pangaea Technologies will accelerate their ground-breaking Project Speedbird initiative to develop sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for commercial use in the UK.
As part of the agreement, British Airways’ parent company IAG, is investing in the project to support the next phase of development work that will help decarbonise the aviation industry.
Project Speedbird was initially launched by the three companies in 2021 and was granted nearly £500,000 (€579,000) by the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Green Fuels, Green Skies competition to fund an initial feasibility study for the early-stage development of the project.
This work is now complete and so the next stage of development can begin. Once in operation, it would be the UK’s first SAF facility utilising agricultural and wood waste taken from sustainable sources.
Project Speedbird will transform agricultural and wood waste taken from sustainable sources into 102 million litres of SAF per year.
Construction could begin as early as next year and the facility, which is planned to be built in north-east England, is expected to be producing SAF by 2026. British Airways intends to offtake all SAF produced through Project Speedbird to help power some of its flights.
The SAF will be developed using a combination of leading-edge technologies based on Nova Pangaea’s REFNOVA® process of converting agricultural and wood waste into bioethanol and biochar. LanzaJet’s proprietary and patented alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technology, then converts the bioethanol to produce SAF and renewable diesel.
Sarah Ellerby, CEO at Nova Pangaea Technologies, said: “This project will deliver the first end-to-end, sustainable value chain from agricultural and wood waste to SAF in the UK. It will undoubtedly play a very important role in the growing momentum towards decarbonising our aviation sector. The support from British Airways is a vote of huge confidence in our technology.”
Carrie Harris, director of sustainability at British Airways, said: “Project Speedbird is another great step towards our mission to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner and achieve our target of using SAF for 10% of our fuel by 2030.”