The future for the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market looks very bright – demand is huge, and motivation to meet international mandates remains high. Even brighter is the future for one emerging pathway – sewage biosolids to jet (SBtJ) fuel –pioneered by British company Firefly Green Fuels.
The technology behind converting biosolids to biocrude has been proven and the fuel that this process produces is practically indistinguishable from fossil jet fuel. Biosolids, it seems, are an ideal feedstock for creating SAF – sustainable, abundant and low value. This is fantastic news for the aviation industry, which is currently responsible for around 2.5% of global CO2 emissions.
Synagro and Firefly partnership
The partnership between Synagro Technologies and Firefly Green Fuels is working to bring Firefly’s innovative fuel-production techniques to the American market. Firefly has developed a novel process to turn biosolids into biocrude. From there, Firefly is able to produce a product slate of highly sustainable, high-performance fuels, including SAF.
Synagro, North America’s preeminent provider of sustainable solutions for biosolids, organics and residuals, will be the exclusive US supplier of feedstock used in this novel process.
Finding and employing beneficial uses for biosolids is core to Synagro’s business - you could say it is in their DNA. This partnership will provide huge benefits to both companies and will enable Firefly’s ground-breaking technology to scale across the US.
Firefly’s waste-to-fuel process uses hydrothermal liquefaction, which chemically alters biosolids waste, breaking it down into biocrude and biochar. The crude is then upgraded into SAF, and the remaining biochar goes to various other uses. Independent analysis by Cranfield University has shown Firefly’s SAF offers a highly significant 92% CO2e saving versus fossil jet fuel.
Demand for SAF
SAF mandates have become increasingly common in recent years as countries seek to limit carbon emissions from the aviation industry.
Many major economies have now published a roadmap for future mandates, requiring flights to use a percentage blend of SAF in their fuels from 2030 onwards.
In the US, the SAF Grand Challenge targets three billion gallons of domestic SAF by 2030 and 35 billion gallons of SAF to satisfy 100% of domestic demand by 2050.
As these targets drive global demand, new SAF producers and pathways like Firefly’s are needed in order to increase the availability of low-carbon fuels.
It’s basic economics. As demand propels the construction of new SAF plants, supply chains will accelerate. In the US, Synagro brings its expertise and strong relationships with municipalities, where biosolids are sourced, along with its rail and other transportation solutions, to enable Firefly to create SAF for the US and global markets.
“The exciting thing about our pathway is that there is a huge amount of feedstock ready to use right away. Firefly’s solution is very adaptable, it will easily plug in to Synagro’s existing infrastructure and can be implemented anywhere in the world where biosolids are collected and processed. This partnership will be a win-win for all involved,” added Hygate OBE.
Looking ahead in 2025
The two companies will begin preliminary work on developing a US-based plant this year, with plans to have key decisions such as site and scale shortly after.
In the meantime, Firefly is moving ahead to build its first full, commercial-scale facility in the United Kingdom, slated to be in production by 2028-2029.
Once the fuel has been qualified by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), it can be used for commercial flights.
Given the urgent market need, however, and the proven high-quality nature of Firefly’s fuel, the team expect this process to move quickly.
Firefly already have data from multiple, independent tests in US and EU labs that have confirmed its product to be near chemically indistinguishable from fossil jet fuel.
Once complete, the UK’s first-of-a-kind commercial-scale facility will provide a model and proof of concept for the second facility to be located in the US.
“This is going to be an interesting and potentially landmark initiative,” said Cleverley. “We are excited to work with Firefly to advance this project toward commercialisation for people and the planet.”
For 2025 and 2026, project streams in the US include scoping the initial site, establishing scale, estimating offtakes and degerming the necessary permits. Discussions are ongoing, and the pieces are coming together. The goal is to bring this project to market as quickly as possible at maximum scale.
An exciting future
As mandates increase and competition for limited feedstocks shape the global market, it is likely that the demand for, and price of, SAF will continue to reflect these economic realities.
It is likely that SAF prices will continue to reflect these economic realities, but in the US, the structure of long-term supply agreements have accordingly innovated by including multiple partners, and not just the airlines, that can benefit from the production process and carbon benefits.
Hence, the importance of this remarkable partnership. Biosolids are an inexpensive, highly abundant and sustainable material that have incredible promise as a SAF feedstock.
By working together and bringing more SAF production online, the Synagro and Firefly partnership will help to better balance this supply and promote the longevity of the low carbon economy. The SAF market in 2025 and beyond will continue to grow, with new facilities coming online every year and new offtake deals being struck between developers, airlines and others.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that the aviation industry will need 400 million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel per year by 2050 to reach net-zero carbon emissions. This is a substantial increase from the 0.5 million tonnes produced in 2023, demonstrating the scale of the challenge. Biosolids alone cannot bridge this gap but can provide a significant step along the way.
The partnership between Synagro and Firefly is at the junction of energy independence and a low-carbon economy fueled by sustainable biosolids solutions. It can’t get any better. Both companies’ commitments to global sustainability are at the root of this effort and run in parallel.
Biosolids to SAF is the future, and both Synagro and Firefly are passionate about leading the way.
For more information: Visit synargo.com and flyfirefly.uk
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