Government fuels UK SAF industry with further investment in Alfanar’s Lighthouse Green Fuels Project
- Alfanar secures £8 million in funding from the UK Government’s Advanced Fuel Fund (AFF) for its Lighthouse Green Fuels (LGF) project in Teesside.
- The grant will support final engineering and pre-construction work as the SAF project advances towards construction.
- Alfanar is the only developer to win funding in all three rounds of the AFF, reflecting sustained Government confidence in the project.
- Alfanar’s £2bn investment will deliver the world’s largest and most advanced second-generation fully integrated SAF facility, helping to decarbonise UK aviation and support green growth in Teesside.
Global project developer and engineering construction company Alfanar has secured £8 million in the third round of the UK Government’s Advanced Fuel Fund (AFF), marking another key milestone as the company’s Lighthouse Green Fuels (LGF) sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project moves towards construction. The AFF competition provides grant funding to commercial and demonstration-scale projects in the UK at development stages up to construction.
The funding will support the completion of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and front-end engineering and design (FEED) of LGF – a crucial step to realising Alfanar’s £2bn investment into the world’s largest and most advanced second-generation SAF facility.
Set for completion in 2029, the facility will be essential to decarbonising UK aviation, producing 180 million litres of SAF per year – enough to power 27,000 short haul flights. It could utilise Teesside’s planned carbon capture infrastructure enabling it to produce negative emissions fuels, with potential lifecycle greenhouse gas savings of 200% compared to conventional jet fuel.
This latest grant brings Alfanar’s total funding under the AFF scheme to over £27 million and reinforces the Government’s ongoing support for the project. Alfanar remains the only developer to have been successful in all three AFF rounds, in addition to previous success under the Green Fuels, Green Skies competition in 2022.
The announcement comes at a pivotal time for the UK SAF industry, as the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill continues to progress through Parliament. The legislation, alongside the UK SAF mandate, is seen as critical to unlocking private investment and establishing the UK as a global SAF leader.
Alfanar UK Country Head, Noaman Al Adhami, said:
“We are delighted to receive further funding from the UK Government via the AFF to help us realise our world leading SAF investment in Teesside. Coupled with the SAF Mandate and incoming Revenue Certainty Mechanism, the UK is well placed to be a global leader in SAF development.
"With continued support, our LGF project will cut aviation emissions — one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise — while helping to establish a new green industry and create new jobs in Teesside and attracting major inward investment to the UK.”
Discover how Lighthouse Green Fuels is shaping the future of green aviation. View our insights page to learn more about the project.
Alfanar signals a commitment to the UK market as Investment Minister opens new London office
- Global project developer and engineering construction company Alfanar has opened its new UK headquarters in Bank, London.
- The new office signals Alfanar's continued commitment to the UK market and will be the company's global hub for its transport decarbonisation business.
- Minister for Investment, Baroness Poppy Gustafsson CBE, attended the office opening ceremony alongside key political and industry stakeholders.
- Alfanar's marquee UK investment of £2bn into the world's largest and Europe's most advanced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) facility based in Teesside continues to progress. This follows the positive news from last week that the SAF revenue certainty mechanism bill is progressing through Parliament.
Alfanar has officially opened its new office in London today, further reaffirming its continued investment in the UK.
Senior government officials, MPs, and aviation sector leaders were in attendance. Minister for Investment Baroness Poppy Gustafsson CBE met staff and delivered a keynote speech on the importance of Alfanar's planned investments to the Government's growth mission.
The Alfanar Group currently employs 120 people in the UK, and their new office will be home to their project development business, including the global hub for their transport decarbonisation business.
As part of this, Alfanar will oversee the progress of their £2bn waste-to-SAF production facility in Teesside. The project – Lighthouse Green Fuels – is the most advanced SAF production facility in the UK and Europe. Currently going through the Development Consent Order planning process and earmarked for completion in 2029, the facility will be essential to decarbonising UK aviation, producing 180m litres of SAF annually – enough to power 27,000 short-haul flights. The facility will utilise Teesside's planned carbon capture infrastructure to produce negative emissions fuels, with lifecycle greenhouse gas savings of 200% compared to conventional jet fuel.
The new office opening is exciting for the SAF industry as the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill progresses through Parliament. This will provide the revenue certainty mechanism required to deliver future SAF projects in the UK.
Minister for Investment Baroness Gustafsson CBE said:
"The UK is a global business hub, so I'm delighted that international engineering firm Alfanar has opened its new UK headquarters, a major vote of confidence in not only our economy but this country's green investment environment.
"We're serious about fostering the benefits of net zero; that's why we've identified clean energy as a key growth sector in our upcoming modern Industrial Strategy, encouraging further investment into our world-leading industry and helping to boost economic growth."
MP for Stockton North, Chris McDonald, said:
“I am delighted to see Alfanar growing their presence in the UK. I welcome their long-term investment in our region, bringing skilled jobs to Billingham.
“Teesside is ready to lead in Europe in producing and exporting the green fuels of the future. That’s why it’s so encouraging to see a Labour Government backing this new industry, with the recent introduction of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill into Parliament.”
Alfanar Projects, Chief Investment Officer, Mishal Al Mutlaq, said
"Our new London HQ is further evidence of our commitment and confidence in the UK's green fuels market. With the third largest aviation network in the world and a third of Europe's carbon storage capacity, the UK is perfectly positioned to be a world leader in SAF production and a future hub for our European green fuel operation. We welcome recent steps by the Government to help deliver the assurances required to develop a UK SAF market.
With continued support, our Lighthouse Green Fuels project will cut aviation emissions—one of the hardest sectors of our economy to decarbonise—while establishing a new British green industry in Teesside and attracting significant inward investment to the region and the UK. We look forward to making this a reality by delivering this project and others that will follow."
Discover how Lighthouse Green Fuels is shaping the future of green aviation. View our insights page to learn more about the project.