Lighthouse Green Fuels begins consultation on Teesside SAF facility
- Lighthouse Green Fuels
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
The Lighthouse Green Fuels sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) facility in Teesside, U.K., launched in early December its public consultation, which will run until Jan. 13.
Feedback from the public and other stakeholders will inform the final application, which will be submitted to the planning inspectorate in summer 2026 as a project of national significance requiring a development consent order (DCO) from the secretary of state for energy security and net zero.
Located on a new site in the industrial area of Seal Sands, the £2 billion (USD$2.68 billion) LGF project will convert 1.5 million metric tons of sustainably sourced biomass into more than 180 million liters (47.5 million gallons) of SAF, offsetting the equivalent carbon emissions of 4,500 transatlantic flights from London to New York.
SAF is a safe, proven fuel already in use today.
More will be needed to meet the U.K. government’s targets for net-zero domestic flights by 2040, and for all flights to achieve net zero by 2050.
The government’s SAF mandate requires at least 10 percent of the U.K. aviation-fuel mix to come from sustainable sources by 2030.
LGF said its project is the most advanced SAF project of its kind in the U.K. and is projected to deliver 11 percent of the SAF mandate’s requirement.
Following an earlier public consultation in May 2024, LGF has been updated to reflect technical advancements and strategic improvement:
Site relocation: A new, enhanced site in Seal Sands, 500 meters from the previously proposed Billingham site. The proposed facility offers closer access to critical infrastructure, including rail and shipping links, and enables the entire conversion process to take place on one site, from feedstock pretreatment to storage.
Change in feedstock: The project will now use sustainably sourced biomass, including forestry and agricultural residues, as its primary feedstock to achieve greater carbon savings. This replaces the previous proposal, which intended to use municipal solid waste (MSW)-derived feedstock.
It is also located even closer to Teesside’s carbon-capture and storage infrastructure, providing the opportunity for seamless integration into the network in the future.
This could mean CO2 savings from the SAF produced will more than double from 350,000 tons to 750,000 tons per year.
LGF said the project is expected to be the U.K.’s first commercial-scale, second-generation SAF production facility.
Unlike first-generation fuels, second-generation SAF uses nonedible, waste or residue-based feedstock, which avoids competition with food crops and supports environmental and ethical best practices.
This transformative project represents a £2 billion (USD$2.68 billion) investment in the region and will:
Create over 3,400 full-time equivalent jobs across the U.K. during operations, including up to 600 local jobs on Teesside.
Support £3.8 billion (USD$5.09 billion) in U.K.-wide gross-value added (GVA) and £750 million (USD$1 billion) in Teesside GVA over 25 years.
Drive apprenticeships and skills development to upskill the local workforce and support long-term economic growth.
“Launching this consultation marks an important milestone in accelerating our world-leading SAF investment, positioning Teesside at the center of the U.K.’s fast-growing synthetic fuels sector,” said Noaman Al Adhami, the U.K. country head for Alfanar projects. “Delivering for the local area is a central to LGF’s mission. Our project will generate significant economic benefits, creating up to 2,000 jobs during construction, 300 permanent roles once operations and 3,400 supply-chain positions nationwide. We’re committed to reindustrializing Teesside and ensuring that local workers can transition from fossil fuel-based industries to work in future-facing facilities like ours.”
