Six businesses in Yorkshire working on making flying greener have won funding from a government pot aimed at increasing domestic production of sustainable aviation fuel.

Aviation Minister Mike Kane made the announcement that 17 companies would benefit from a further £63m investment in SAF – a cleaner alternative to traditional jet fuel – during a visit to the University of Sheffield’s Energy Innovation Centre.

Mr Kane said the last government had promised to have five SAF facilities up and running by 2025, but it was a case of “many promises and no delivery”.

He said they “couldn’t have worked any harder or quicker” on the project, and are introducing legislation which will give developers a guaranteed “strike price” for the fuel.

The government has awarded Saltend-based Zero Petroleum Ltd (Fuelling Zero) £3.5m. The firm is developing a small commercial plant that uses reverse water-gas shift and novel Fischer-Tropsch synthesis technology to convert biogenic carbon dioxide and green hydrogen into high blend sustainable aviation fuel

placeholder image — The government has awarded Saltend-based Zero Petroleum Ltd (Fuelling Zero) £3.5m. The firm is developing a small commercial plant that uses reverse water-gas shift and novel Fischer-Tropsch synthesis technology to convert biogenic carbon dioxide and green hydrogen into high blend sustainable aviation fuel

He said: “This is about giving investors the confidence to invest in these plants, many of which will be in the north of England.

“We estimate that this could create 15,000 jobs with £5billion added to GVA.”

In January the Department for Transport introduced a Sustainable Aviation Fuel mandate, which means at least two per cent of all jet fuel aboard flights taking off from UK airports must be SAF by law. This will rise to 10 per cent in 2030 and 22 per cent in 2040.

The same month Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed it was the Government's plan to proceed with a third runway at Heathrow.

In 2023 the UK produced 138m litres of SAF – less than one per cent of the 14bn litres of conventional jet fuel used in the same year. Currently there is only one industrial-scale refinery facility, Phillips 66, on the south bank of the Humber, which makes SAF from waste fats, oils and greases.

But the Government wants to move away from this and encourage innovation in other feedstocks like "power to liquids" where fuels are created synthetically from carbon dioxide, water and renewable electricity.

The region’s biggest winner in the latest round was Zero Petroleum, based at Saltend, near Hull, which was awarded £3.5m, followed by Equinor Low Carbon UK and Altalto Immingham (£3m each). Sheffield University and Power2X Solutions UK got £1.5m each, and Hull’s Equilibrion £1m.