Stanlow, Feb 15 (IANS): Essar Oil (UK) Limited has joined forces with Fulcrum BioEnergy Limited (Fulcrum) and Essar's subsidiary company Stanlow Terminals Limited to create a new facility which will convert non-recyclable household waste into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for use by airlines operating at the UK airports.
This innovative bio-refinery will convert several hundred thousand tonnes of pre-processed waste, which would have otherwise been destined for incineration or landfill, into approximately 100 million litres of low carbon SAF annually.
The project, which will see an investment of approximately £ 600 million pound will use Fulcrum's waste-to-fuel process, which is already being deployed at its facility outside of Reno, Nevada in the US, where operations are due to begin later this year.
The development will see Fulcrum, whose parent is based in California, US, construct, own and operate the plant within Essar's Stanlow Manufacturing Complex in the North West of England. This will be the first Fulcrum plant outside the US.
Essar will assist with the blending and supply of the new SAF to airlines with Stanlow Terminals Limited providing product storage and logistics solutions for the project under a long-term agreement.
The Fulcrum venture will complement Essar's wider plans to build a green energy industrial cluster at the Stanlow site. Earlier this year, it announced its participation in production of blue hydrogen under the HyNet project.
The project, which will fully integrate Essar, Stanlow Terminals Limited and Fulcrum assets and technology, is part of a number of solutions at Stanlow designed to cut carbon emissions and contribute to the UK government's Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. The plan sets firm foundations to accelerate the UK's path to net zero while transforming the economy, boosting employment and delivering growth, a company statement
The Stanlow project, named Fulcrum NorthPoint, will create 800 direct and indirect jobs during the design, build and commissioning process and over 100 permanent jobs during its operation. Plans for Fulcrum NorthPoint, expected to be complete at the end of this year and subject to planning consent, will be operational in late 2025.