Projects win £2m funding to develop advanced fuels plants

Seven projects are to share £2m in government funding to develop proposals for advanced fuels production plants designed to reduce carbon emissions. Proposals include the production of aircraft jet fuel from steel mill waste gases, and a project exploring the use of waste wood to produce a synthetic natural gas for HGVs.

This forms part of the Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition, which was launched in April 2017 to encourage the private sector to invest in advanced fuel production facilities in the UK.

Applicants that receive Stage 1 funding will be invited to apply for a share of a further £20m Stage 2 funding to help with construction. The Stage 2 assessment will take place in December 2018 and the successful applicants will be announced in early 2019.

Transport minister Jesse Norman said: “We are committed to reducing carbon emissions from transport to tackle climate change and make the sector as sustainable as possible.

“The total £22m funding commitment made through this competition will enable the development of this important set of technologies, paving the way for cleaner growth in the UK. Supporting projects like these is just part of our work to help ensure the UK transport sector is greener than ever.”

The aims of the competition are to increase domestic production of advanced low carbon fuels capable of reducing emissions from the aviation and HGV sectors as well as stimulating investment and creating jobs.

The successful bids (with funding amounts awarded) are:

Rika Biogas Technologies; Liquid biomethane; £103,034

Johnson Matthey; Kerosene, diesel and petrol substitutes; £178,000

Standard Gas; Synthetic natural gas; £178,000

LanzaTech; Kerosene and diesel substitutes; £410,000

Progressive Energy; Synthetic natural gas; £175,960

Kew Projects; Diesel substitute; £312,300

Velocys Technologies; Kerosene and petrol substitutes; £434,000