UK’s first SAF handling terminal to be developed on Teeside

Navigator Terminals and alfanar will enter a joint front-end-engineering-design (FEED) study to determine the key scope for the UK’s first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) handling terminal.
The facility will be located on North Tees to transport feedstock and handle the production volumes from the new Alfanar facility.
The Lighthouse Green Fuels (LGF) project, backed by Alfanar, will see approximately 1 million tonnes of non-recyclable waste converted into SAF at the facility which is to be deployed on Teesside.
SAF produced at the plant has the potential to reduce emissions by up to 80% and the plant will produce more than 125,000 tonnes of SAF annually from 2028.
UK Government’s Jet Zero strategy will support aviation to reach net zero by 2050.
SAF is seen as a key component as a ‘drop-in fuel’ that can be blended into fossil-based aviation fuel and used in existing aircraft and infrastructure without modification and therefore could deliver both short- and long-term CO2 emissions savings.
Navigator Terminals’ North Tees complex is a road fuel and crude oil storage facility with the region’s only deep-water jetty designed for petrochemicals, direct pipeline connecting to the North Sea and modern rail distribution facilities.
Finished SAF will be exported via ship at the North Tees waterside complex. SAF may also be exported via rail or truck at Navigator’s inland rail terminal.
Jason Hornsby, chief executive officer for Navigator Terminals, said: “Navigator Terminals is committed to playing a leading role in delivering net zero for the UK, as the UK’s leading transport, storage and handling experts, we operate a network of strategically located terminals.
“We have supported Alfanar progress its thinking around the Lighthouse SAF project for over 12 months and now are pleased to announce our formal partnership. It is exciting to bring forward plans for the UKs first sustainable aviation fuel handling terminal on our North Tees dockside to rejuvenate this industrial land and push UK aviation that bit closer to net zero every time we fly.”