Lighthouse Green Fuels completes FEED for SAF facility in Teesside, UK

Image: Lighthouse Green Fuels

Global project development, manufacturing and engineering group Alfanar announced June 11 the successful completion of front-end engineering design (FEED) for its Lighthouse Green Fuels sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project in Teesside, England, delivered in partnership with Worley.

The completion of FEED represents one of the most important milestones in the development of a large-scale infrastructure project, particularly for a first-of-a-kind second-generation SAF facility, LGF stated.

“Reaching this milestone proves that LGF has now moved beyond concept stage into a robustly engineered industrial project with a credible pathway to delivery and all core technology licenses secured,” the company said.

Located at Seal Sands on Teesside, LGF has become the first second-generation SAF project in Europe to reach this level of engineering maturity, according to Alfanar.

The project will also be the U.K.’s first new refinery since the 1960s.

FEED completion confirms the technical integration and engineering configuration for the facility, including feedstock handling, gasification, Fischer-Tropsch fuel synthesis, utilities, storage infrastructure and potential integration with carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure on Teesside.

Once operational, the facility will produce 180 million liters (47.5 million gallons) of SAF per year and 30 million liters (7.9 million gallons) of renewable naphtha from sustainably sourced biomass feedstocks, including forestry and agricultural residues.

With access to CCS, the project can produce carbon-negative fuel, reducing lifecycle emissions by over 200 percent compared to conventional jet fuel, according to the developers.

This means that once fully operational in 2032, LGF could contribute around 46 percent of the total U.K. SAF mandate on a greenhouse-gas emissions basis, compared to around 20 percent without CCS.

Development activities continue to advance across multiple workstreams.

Planning and consenting remain on track, with submission of the development consent order (DCO) application expected in the summer.

The project has also submitted its application for connection into the East Coast Cluster carbon capture and storage network in Teesside, while heads of terms have been signed with major feedstock suppliers and SAF offtake agreements are progressing.

In parallel, project-financing activities are advancing, as the project moves towards final-investment decision (FID), targeted for the end of 2027.

To date, Alfanar has invested approximately £90 million (USD$120 million) into the project, with a further £100 million (USD$133.4 million) expected to be committed ahead of FID.

“Completing FEED is a defining milestone for Lighthouse Green Fuels and a major step forward not just for the project, but for the U.K. SAF industry more broadly,” said Noaman Al Adhami, the U.K. country head at Alfanar. “Reaching this level of engineering maturity demonstrates that large-scale second-generation SAF production is technically credible, commercially serious and ready to reach FID on schedule at the end of 2027, ahead of targeted operations by 2031. Together with Worley and our wider project partners, we have now established the engineering foundation for one of the most advanced SAF facilities anywhere in the world. At a time of growing concern around energy security, fuel resilience and industrial competitiveness, projects like LGF can play a critical role in strengthening domestic fuel supply chains, supporting economic growth and positioning the U.K. as a global leader in sustainable fuels.”

Hicham Kabbaj, Worley president of global operations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said, “Completing FEED for the Lighthouse Green Fuels project is a defining step in advancing Alfanar’s flagship SAF development toward execution. It demonstrates Worley’s ability to translate early-stage vision into a clear, deliverable pathway that enables complex, sustainable projects to progress with confidence.”