Fulcrum BioEnergy Ltd. on Feb. 16 announced plans to develop a 30 MMgy sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant at Essar Oil (UK) Ltd.’s refinery near Liverpool, England. The project could be operational as soon as 2025.  

The proposed facility, known as Fulcrum NorthPoint, will utilize Fulcrum’s proprietary waste-to-fuel technology and take in several hundred thousand metric tons of non-recyclable household waste as feedstock annually. Construction on the project is expected to begin in late 2023, subject to planning permission and financing, and will take 18-24 months to complete.

Fulcrum will construct, own and operate the plant within Essar’s Stanlow Manufacturing Complex in northwest England. Essar will assist with the blending and supply of the new SAF to airlines, with Stanlow Terminal Ltd. providing product storage and logistics solutions for the project under a long-term agreement.

Essar estimates the project will create 800 direct and indirect jobs during the design, build and commissioning process, and more than 100 permanent jobs during its operation.

“The U.K. has a rich history in aviation related innovation, and we are proud to be able to continue to support the industry with the introduction of our low-carbon, waste-to-jet fuel platform,” said Jim Macias, president and CEO of Fulcrum. “Launching our first U.K. project at Stanlow, in collaboration with Essar, brings tremendous benefits in terms of plant operability, efficiency of feedstock and fuel product logistics. On-site storage via Stanlow Terminals Limited and direct access to airport pipelines, make this an attractive site for our project. Fulcrum’s innovative and patented waste-to-fuels process will help reduce the impacts from climate change, boost the economy by supplying low-carbon, drop in transportation fuel as well as bringing high-paying jobs and investment to the North West of England.”

“We are excited to have been chosen to host Fulcrum’s first UK biorefinery. Stanlow and the surrounding area is transitioning toward a low-carbon energy cluster for the UK and the advanced fuel that will be produced from this plant will position Stanlow as the UK’s leading sustainable aviation fuel hub,” said Stein Ivar Bye, CEO at Essar Oil UK. “We look forward to supporting Fulcrum with its development and to increase our involvement in the project.”

The project represents Fulcrum’s first biorefinery development outside of the U.S. The company is also developing the Sierra BioFuels Plant, a 11 MMgy facility near Reno, Nevada, that will convert approximately 175,000 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) feedstock annually into renewable synthetic crude oil. That syncrude will be processed by Marathon Petroleum into transportation fuel. Information released by Essar indicates operations at the Sierra Biofuels Plant are currently scheduled to begin later this year.