KLM, SkyNRG celebrate start of construction on SAF plant in Netherlands

Photo: SkyNRG

KLM, together with SkyNRG and invited guests, marked the start of construction May 28 on the first facility in the Netherlands fully dedicated to the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

This milestone officially kicks off construction of the DSL-01 plant, developed by SkyNRG, and represents an important step in scaling up SAF production in the Netherlands.

Located in Delfzijl, DSL-01 is also the first commercial-scale SAF plant globally to secure nonrecourse project financing, highlighting growing confidence in scalable SAF production and establishing a model for future sustainable fuel projects worldwide.

Once fully operational in 2028, the facility is expected to produce approximately 100,000 metric tons of SAF annually using low-quality feedstocks such as used cooking oil and residual fats and greases.

Through the European Just Transition Fund (JTF) and on behalf of the JTF partners in the north, the Northern Netherlands Alliance has awarded a subsidy of 16-million euros (USD$18.63 million) to SkyNRG.

KLM was a co-founder of SkyNRG in 2009 and has been closely involved in developing the SAF market from the outset.

KLM has committed to purchasing at least 75,000 tons annually—representing 75 percent of the plant’s total output—amounting to a sustainability commitment of nearly 3-billion euros (USD$3.49 billion).

Through this commitment, KLM said it is playing a key role in enabling the project.

For many years, KLM has invested in making aviation cleaner, quieter and more fuel-efficient.

In addition to fleet renewal, SAF is one of the most effective ways to significantly reduce aviation’s CO2 emissions.

While SAF produces the same CO2 emissions during flight as fossil kerosene, its total lifecycle emissions—from production to combustion—are significantly lower, reducing CO2 by at least 65 percent and up to more than 90 percent compared to conventional kerosene.

“Today’s milestone in Delfzijl shows that large-scale SAF production in the Netherlands is becoming a reality,” said KLM CEO Marjan Rintel. “We are proud to take this step together with KLM and our partners—their long-term commitment has made this project possible. DSL-01 is an important step in scaling up SAF production and accelerating the transition to more sustainable aviation.”

SkyNRG CEO Maarten van Dijk added, “Today’s milestone in Delfzijl shows that large-scale SAF production in the Netherlands is becoming a reality. We are proud to take this step together with KLM and our partners, whose long-term commitment has helped make this project possible. DSL-01 is an important step toward scaling SAF production and accelerating the transition to more sustainable aviation.”

SAF is currently three to four times more expensive than fossil kerosene.

While this plant is an important milestone, further efforts are needed to accelerate production and make SAF more widely available and affordable, KLM stated.

“It is therefore encouraging that the new coalition agreement includes plans to expand alternative aviation fuels and support SAF production in the Netherlands,” the airline said. “KLM calls on the government to work together to accelerate and scale up SAF, for example through a national SAF fund, as recommended in the Wennink report ‘The Route to Future Prosperity.’”

KLM added that the DSL-01 project demonstrates what is possible while also underlining the need for more initiatives like this to achieve the Dutch target of 14 percent SAF blending by 2030.