Plans for green jet fuel factory in Immingham given boost as global investment firms step in

Ambitions to turn household and commercial waste into jet fuel at a planned new factory in Immingham have been given a boost by the planned buyout of the company behind the proposals.
By Chris Burn
Published 5th Dec 2023, 12:29 BST

A firm called Velocys has been working on plans backed by British Airways to construct a green jet fuel refinery through a subsidiary called Altalto Immingham. But it said last month the company was “unlikely” to be able to continue as a going concern in its current form past December unless new funding was secured.

A recommended cash acquisition of Velocys by a consortium operating under the name Madison Bidco has now been agreed.

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The intended deal will see the consortium buy the entire share capital of Velocys for £4.1m and then provide up to £31.5m in growth capital to the business.

A green jet fuel factory is planned in ImminghamA green jet fuel factory is planned in Immingham
A green jet fuel factory is planned in Immingham

Altato Immingham is intended to be Europe’s first commercial scale waste-to-jet-fuel facility and last year received a Government grant of up to £27m to help progress the proposal ahead of a final investment decision on building the plant in 2025.

The consortium, which involves global private equity firm Lightrock, said the production of sustainable aviation fuel is a “compelling market opportunity” which Velocys is “well positioned to capitalise on”.

It highlighted the Immingham project and a separate scheme in the US to utilise wood waste to produce sustainable fuels as initiatives with considerable commercial potential.

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A statement to the London Stock Exchange about the potential deal said: “The reference projects are being developed to accelerate adoption of Velocys' technology and, following the completion of third-party development capital project financing and commencement of the detailed engineering stage of these projects, the reference projects are expected to generate significant technology licensing revenue for Velocys.”

Other members of Madison Bidco, which has been registered in London, include New York green investment firm Carbon Direct Capital and Singaporean-linked investment firms GenZero and Kibo Investments.

It is intended that the acquisition will be implemented by a court-sanctioned scheme.

Related topics:British Airways

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