UK Government confirms multi-million pound grant to Velocys

The UK Government has confirmed the results of the Advanced Fuels Fund competition where Velocys has been awarded £29.5 million (€33.6 million).
Velocys, the sustainable fuels technology company, announced on 12 December that it had received the grant of from the Department for Transport (DfT) Advanced Fuels Fund competition for the Altalto Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) project.
This is being developed under an existing Joint Development Agreement between Velocys and British Airways to deliver a commercial waste-to-SAF plant in Immingham, UK.
Velocys also announced that it had received a separate DfT grant to contribute its technology to an e-fuels project in the UK in collaboration with a number of new and existing partners.
This latest announcement by DfT confirms the strategic importance of this award as part of UK Government’s drive to have five SAF plants in construction by 2025.
The key objective of the Advanced Fuels Fund is to kick-start the UK advanced fuels sector with the commercial deployment of innovative fuel production technologies, such as Velocys’ IP-protected technology, that are capable of significantly reducing lifecycle carbon emissions in the aviation industry.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Using waste or by-products to refuel airliners sounds like a flight of fancy, but thanks to £165 million of Government funding it’s going to help us make guilt-free flying a reality.
“It’s exactly this kind of innovation that will help us create thousands of green jobs across the country and slash our carbon emissions.”
Jonathon Counsell, IAG’s group head of sustainability, said: “Investing in Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) is one of the best opportunities our industry has to decarbonise.
Henrik Wareborn, Velocys CEO, said: “We are encouraged to see that the UK Government is taking seriously the urgent need to transition to lower carbon travel and transport, with its stated ambition of having at least five commercial scale SAF plants under construction in the UK by 2025. Velocys’ IP protected technology provides a pathway to large-scale production of SAF, which is an essential element for achieving net-zero[1]carbon air travel.”