Nova Pangaea completes successful SAF production trials
- Nova Pangaea Technologies
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Nova Pangaea Technologies, a U.K. company with a unique process to create sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from waste biomass, announced Aug. 24 that it has completed successful endurance trials that further validate its technology.
The trials, which took place at its demonstration plant on Teesside, show continuous stable operation in production runs of up to 72 hours and achieved above-target yields.
It marks another step forward for Nova Pangaea, which will be raising funds to progress its first commercial plant, and comes as the aviation industry seeks ways to scale up SAF production using other sustainable raw materials to end the current dependence on waste oils and fats.
Nova Pangaea is working with British Airways and LanzaJet on Project Speedbird, an initiative supported by the U.K. government to produce carbon-negative aviation fuel from local waste biomass to decarbonize the aviation sector.
For Speedbird, Nova Pangaea will construct four U.K. facilities to produce bioethanol from local wastes for upgrading to SAF.
Nova Pangaea’s Refnova process converts waste biomass and residues, such as wood chips, sawdust or wheat straw, into ethanol, which can be used to make SAF and renewable diesel.
It also produces a valuable coproduct, biochar, which permanently captures carbon and makes the whole process carbon negative—removing more CO2 from the atmosphere than it releases.
The latest trials used softwood residues from timber processing.
Multiple runs were carried out processing up to 3 metric tons of feedstock per day.
They follow initial smaller-scale trials in early 2025 that demonstrated the viability of the process outside of the laboratory.
More trials will take place next year to fine-tune the design of the first commercial-scale plant.
By enabling the use of waste biomass, Nova Pangaea said its process can help prevent potential shortages of SAF in the future.
Under U.K. and EU rules, airlines must use an increasing proportion of SAF in aviation fuel—rising from 2 percent to as much as 70 percent in 2050.
However, at present almost all SAF comes from used cooking oil (UCO), according to Nova Pangaea, which is in limited supply and will not be enough to meet future demand.
According to the International Air Transport Association, in 2030 there will be enough waste biomass available in Europe including the U.K. to produce around 30 million tons of SAF, equivalent to the European SAF targets for 2050.
“The latest trials have validated our technology and should further underpin the confidence of investors on our journey towards building our first commercial plant,” said Stewart Stewart, the CEO of Nova Pangaea. “The SAF industry is currently at a critical point. Demand is increasing and supply-chain shocks such as in the Middle East show the need to find an alternative to fossil fuels, yet aviation is currently reliant on SAF from a single feedstock, which will not be enough to meet growing SAF demand. Nova Pangaea’s tried-and-tested technology offers a genuine alternative. By tapping into the plentiful supplies of waste biomass, we can boost SAF production—enhancing our energy security and building a new domestic industry that generates jobs and revenues while reducing fossil fuel emissions.”
Nova Pangaea has raised over £21 million (USD$28.6 million) to date from investors, including International Airlines Group, PXN Ventures, Mercia Ventures and the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, alongside U.K. government grant funding awarded under the Advanced Fuels Fund competition.
