Equilibrion, Rolls-Royce SMR announce collaboration to advance development of SAF using nuclear energy

Image: Equilibrion

Equilibrion announced March 10 that it and Rolls-Royce SMR have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on a technical and economic assessment to better understand the opportunity for nuclear-powered sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using small modular reactors (SMRs).

The Rolls-Royce SMR is designed to provide clean, reliable cost-competitive energy through its factory-built SMR technology.

The heat and electricity from a Rolls-Royce SMR power station is well-suited to industrial processes, according to Equilibrion, such as hydrogen production and synthetic-fuel synthesis, which require consistent energy inputs.

Equilibrion is a U.K. project-development and technology company creating new commercial opportunities for nuclear energy across hard-to-decarbonize industries.

Eq.flight is Equilibrion’s proprietary modular system for producing SAF at commercial scale and with lower lifecycle emissions compared to other technologies, making it ideal for U.K. and international deployment, the company stated.

Eq.flight will produce electro SAF (eSAF) with electricity and heat—also known as power-to-liquids (PtL) SAF—which will contribute to the U.K.’s SAF-mandate targets.

The enhanced efficiency of the system will, according to Equilibrion, produce more SAF using less energy and be a key enabler to securing domestic eSAF production and the associated jobs and economic growth.

Supported by a U.K. Department for Transport grant under the Advanced Fuels Fund, Equilibrion said it and its partners are delivering a world-leading U.K.-based demonstration of Eq.flight by 2030 to confirm both the technical viability and economic case of the system.

The collaboration explores how Equilibrion’s Eq.flight SAF-production system can be powered from Rolls-Royce SMR’s clean, reliable power solution.

Together, the technologies have the potential to produce over 160 million liters (42.3 million gallons) of SAF per year per Rolls-Royce SMR, meeting around a third of the U.K.’s 2040 PtL target.

Aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of global greenhouse-gas emissions, yet current SAF supply meets less than 1 percent of global demand.

With U.K. targets for 22 percent of aviation fuel to be SAF by 2040, there is a growing demand for meaningful capacity increase.

This requires large volumes of low-carbon energy, a need that nuclear technology is uniquely positioned to meet, according to Equilibrion.

Under the agreement, the partners will collaborate to develop a deeper understanding of the technical and economic case for a global SAF-production solution optimized with nuclear energy.

The MOU supports national and international net-zero goals, strengthens energy security through domestic fuel production and aims to enable SAF availability at volumes capable of transforming the aviation sector, Equilibrion stated.

Future commercial deployment is expected to support thousands of high-skilled jobs, strengthen U.K. industrial capability and accelerate global SAF adoption.

“Aviation will only meet its climate commitments if SAF becomes available in large, dependable volumes,” said Equilibrion Director Caroline Longman. “Nuclear‑derived fuel production offers the reliability, scalability and low carbon intensity needed to deliver that future. Delivering nuclear‑enabled SAF also creates long‑term, high‑quality employment—each Eq.flight facility has the potential to generate around 10,000 skilled local jobs over its lifetime.”

Alan Woods, the director of strategy and business development for Rolls-Royce SMR, added, “Our SMR technology is designed to provide clean, affordable and dependable low‑carbon energy, exactly the qualities required to unlock large‑scale SAF production. The technical and economic assessment completed with Equilibrion will enable them to demonstrate how nuclear can power one of the most ambitious decarbonization challenges in aviation.”