The UK’s sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) clearing house has officially launched, a free-at-the-point-of-use service to support fuel producers in co-ordinating a fuel qualification programme. Led by the Energy Institute at the University of Sheffield, funded by the UK government and supported by engineering and environmental consultancy Ricardo, it is now inviting applications from fuel producers for technical support and funding towards the development, funding and testing of SAF.
Despite noting his enthusiasm at the high level of activity in UK SAF development, professor Chris Lewis from the University of Sheffield, director of the UK SAF Clearing House, added that “the increase in a diverse range of raw materials and processes means a major shift in the industry”. With these “increasingly diverse SAF products” facing additional challenges in getting to market, the UK SAF Clearing House will be able to facilitate a range of support.
With the cost and complexity of testing potentially a ‘significant barrier to new fuels entering the market,’ the UK SAF Clearing House will ‘provide advice to fuel producers on testing, signpost towards testing facilities and support the qualification of sustainable aviation fuels to help overcome this barrier’.
Natasha Robinson, deputy director of low carbon fuels at the Department for Transport, explained that the new facility will “reduce the bottleneck in testing, ensuring a greater availability of SAF from a diverse range of feedstocks, which will enable the UK to achieve its target of 10% SAF by 2030”.
Launch of UK Clearing House for sustainable aviation fuels
