Kenya Airways, Rubis Energy Kenya to establish Africa’s 1st dedicated SAF refinery

Kenya Airways and Rubis Energy Kenya, a subsidiary of Rubis Énergie, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) May 10 to develop the first dedicated sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) refinery on the African continent.

The project, based in Nairobi, establishes a framework for the joint engineering, financing and operation of a facility designed to produce low-carbon fuel from local waste feedstocks.

The agreement was finalized in the presence of William Ruto, the president of the Kenya, and Emmanuel Macron, the president of France.

As the two heads of state observed the signing during the Africa Forward Summit, the event marked a shift in regional industrial cooperation.

For the first time, this summit was hosted in a non-Francophone nation, highlighting a shared intent between Kenya and France to accelerate investments in green energy and technology.

The refinery will utilize modular technology from Dragonfly to process primary feedstocks, including used cooking oils, waste animal fats and other vegetable oils.

By locating it near Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, production will be integrated with existing infrastructure.

The refinery is expected to have an annual production capacity of 32,000 metric tons, with a project investment estimated at between 60-million and 70-million euros (USD$70.4 million and USD$82.2 million).

George Kamal, the acting group managing director and CEO of Kenya Airways, stated that the project addresses the urgent need to decarbonize the aviation sector.

“The expansion of air transport is linked to a growing share of global greenhouse-gas emissions,” he said. “Currently, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport consumes 2.9 million liters of jet fuel every day, an amount equal to filling the tanks of 52,727 family cars.”

He said switching to SAF was the most commercially viable, technologically mature and lowest-risk solution to significantly decarbonize aviation in the world today.

“While we currently depend entirely on imports, this refinery allows us to produce our own sustainable fuel,” Kamal said. “Renewable biogenic fuel is the optimal route for airlines to reach the goal of the International Civil Aviation Organization to achieve net-zero CO2e emissions by 2050.”

Jean-Christian Bergeron, the co-managing partner of Rubis and CEO of Rubis Énergie, said the company’s involvement was consistent with its roadmap to deliver low-carbon energy solutions around the world, with a special focus on bringing meaningful opportunities to Africa.

“Our priority will be technology transfer and ensuring that training is provided for local skills development so that the facility, and associated supply chains, will be operated and managed by Kenyans,” he said. “This focus on local skills aligns with the broader objectives of the Africa Forward Summit to create meaningful economic opportunities through international partnerships.”

Dragonfly, the company Rubis has partnered with to provide modular SAF refineries, is founded on bringing existing technologies to market quicker than any other SAF refinery in the world, with a lower financial and carbon footprint.

Dragonfly intends to bring the facility online within 24 months of receiving all the required local planning approvals.

“The critical advantage of this project is that a Dragonfly refinery can be sited close to both the feedstock and the consumers of the fuel, and utilize the existing Rubis infrastructure to provide a long-term daily supply of SAF to Kenya Airways at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport,” said Dragonfly CEO Karl W. Feilder.