Kent secures FEED contract for UK sustainable aviation fuel project with Fulcrum BioEnergy

A rendering of the Fulcrum NorthPoint SAF manufacturing site (Image: Fulcrum BioEnergy)

Kent, a leading engineering and project management company, announced April 30 that it has been awarded the front-end engineering design (FEED) contract for a groundbreaking initiative in the U.K. spearheaded by U.S.-based Fulcrum BioEnergy.

Fulcrum’s NorthPoint project at the Essar Stanlow Manufacturing Complex in Cheshire, North West England, is designed to convert approximately 600,000 metric tons of preprocessed waste into 100 million liters (26.4 million gallons) of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

With a focus on developing projects to produce net-zero transport fuels from waste, Fulcrumhas built its first plant in the U.S. and is now expanding internationally, making its first commercial-scale venture in the U.K.

Kent’s involvement builds upon its prior collaboration with Fulcrum, where the company provided valuable study work in the U.K.

The project has received a significant boost with the allocation of a U.K. government grant under the Advanced Fuels Fund.

The scope of Kent’s responsibilities encompasses engineering services, cost estimating, identification of long-lead procurement items, managing multiple licensors and execution planning.

This comprehensive approach is designed to support tendering for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and ultimately pave the way for the project to achieve financial investment decision (FID).

The physical scope includes process-plant units, utilities, third-party connections and the waste feedstock receipt facility.

“We are thrilled to be entrusted with the FEED contract for this project,” said Usman Darr, Kent’s managing director of engineering in the U.K. “This win underscores the strength and depth of our FEED capability for full process-plant design. It demonstrates our ability to deliver large-scale FEED contracts competitively from our Woking (England) office. Our experience in waste-to-fuels further solidifies our position as a reliable partner in sustainable-energy projects. We are committed to supporting Fulcrum BioEnergy to deliver this project, which we hope will be the first of many successful collaborations with them. This project is a crucial part of the U.K.’s journey to net zero, specifically contributing to the decarbonization of the transport sector.

Paul Hubbard, project director with Fulcrum BioEnergy, added, “Fulcrum is pleased to be working with Kent Energies to complete the FEED engineering for our NorthPoint waste-to-fuels project. We look forward to working with Kent’s experienced engineering team and the successful completion of this FEED work to help ensure Fulcrum’s NorthPoint project achieves its objectives, and ultimately contributes to decarbonizing aviation in line with the U.K. government’s net-zero strategies.”