At a time of daily headlines about sewage flooding into Britain’s polluted rivers, a joint venture led by a Bristol-based start-up is offering a very different narrative with some blue-sky thinking. Firefly Green Fuels has developed a way to turn human waste into sustainable aviation fuel and has set out plans to build a commercial-scale production facility after signing a supply agreement with Wizz Air.
It intends to construct an operational demonstration facility by 2027 and a site capable of producing sustainable fuel from sewage sludge in Britain before 2030.
It said its “novel route” to sustainable aviation fuel “utilises a difficult-to-dispose, abundant waste feedstock”. The technology was developed in the laboratories of Green Fuels, which developed the joint venture with Petrofac and Cranfield University. Contracts to develop the construction facility have been signed with partners including Chevron Lummus Global, a joint venture between Chevron and Lummus Technology, and Anglian Water.
Green Fuels was founded in 2003 and was awarded a royal warrant in 2013. The company also supplies the biofuel used in the King’s Aston Martin DB6, a 21st birthday present given to him by his mother.
Sustainable air fuel has been hailed as crucial in attempts to decarbonise air travel in the medium term. The International Air Transport Association has estimated that fuel from waste by-products should contribute 65 per cent of the aviation industry’s emissions savings if it is to achieve net zero by 2050.
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The company secured £5 million in funding from Wizz, the low-cost European airline, in exchange for a 25 per cent equity stake. As part of the deal, Firefly will supply 525,000 tonnes of fuel to Wizz over 15 years when it enters commercial production, helping the airline to reduce its carbon emissions.
James Hygate, 47, Firefly’s chief executive, said: “The signing of these agreements marks a significant leap forward in realising our ambitions to develop a sustainable airline fuels industry here in the UK.
“Opening up this new sewage pathway will bring new jobs and growth to the UK, helping us to secure a greener and more prosperous future.”
