UK aviation-fuel testing center delivers 1st results in push for greener flights
- University of Sheffield
- 13 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The University of Sheffield has announced a major milestone in the push for greener aviation, as it produces its first report from testing a new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The research, from Sheffield’s Energy Innovation Centre, is helping support the faster rollout of low-carbon jet fuels, so more people can enjoy greener flights when taking a city break, summer holiday or travelling for business.
The work could also help to ease the pressure on the future supply of jet fuel in response to geopolitical events, such as the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, by boosting U.K. SAF production.
Sheffield’s Energy Innovation Centre is supporting U.K. fuel producers in developing new SAF to reduce the environmental impact of air travel.
One such fuel producer is Green Lizard Technologies, which is developing SAF in Teesside.
Sheffield’s Energy Innovation Centre is the U.K.’s first facility that can both test emerging fuels and provide in-depth analysis and feedback, drawing on the university’s academic expertise to help fuel producers determine whether they have a viable product.
The center has now provided its first such fuel-testing report for Green Lizard Technologies, enabling the company to move its new low-carbon jet fuel forward towards commercial production.
“The state-of-the-art testing laboratory we have at Sheffield is supporting efforts to power more flights with low-carbon jet fuel, so that more of the flights people take for holidays, city breaks or business trips are flying on sustainable aviation fuel,” said Ehsan Alborzi, a senior research fellow in aviation fuels at Sheffield’s Energy Innovation Centre.
Hansini Rathnayake, the center’s laboratory manager, added, “We expect demand for our testing service to grow as the aviation sector intensifies its focus on decarbonization and also looks to ease the pressure on jet-fuel supplies. As more companies look to bring sustainable aviation fuels to market, there is a need for robust, independent testing and analysis to advance their development, and we are well placed to support that demand.”
Martin Atkins, CEO and co-founder of Green Lizard Technologies, said, “Our close partnership with the University of Sheffield has helped us successfully complete jet-engine testing and better understand the components of our fuel. This is key to meeting certification standards and gives us the data we need to attract investors and expand our technology globally.”
SAF is produced from renewable or waste-derived sources and can significantly lower carbon emissions compared with traditional jet fuel.
Its adoption, however, has been slowed by the complexity and cost of testing and certification, the university stated.
The testing laboratory at Sheffield addresses this gap by offering a single, integrated service that supports fuel developers from early testing through to evidence needed for regulatory approval.
The scope and complexity of the work with Green Lizard Technologies were substantial: the project comprised a full technical assessment of a Fischer-Tropsch synthetic paraffinic kerosene (FT-SPK) sample against the requirements of ASTM D7566 Annex A1, including a wide-ranging program of physical, chemical and compositional testing supported by detailed data analysis and compliance evaluation.
The work was undertaken using state-of-the-art facilities in EIC’s aviation fuel characterization lab.
For the chemical-composition analysis, a cutting-edge multidimensional gas chromatography with dual detectors (FID and MS) was used.
Requiring only a tiny amount of fuel (1 milliliter), this instrument separates the fuel into individual components before determining their full chemistry and characteristics.
The results were then processed, analyzed and compiled in a comprehensive report that will allow Green Lizard Technologies to continue through the approval pathways needed to commercialize its new fuel.
The feedback delivered by the EIC’s fuel experts offered a custom approach to the results, including offering advice on limitations and areas for improvement as well as context of the wider fuels landscape, and advice for next steps.
This process showcases the EIC’s capacity to support early-stage fuel producers with certification-aligned analytical research using advanced techniques, and establishes newly developed, specialized service offering within the SAF sector.
“Reflecting the university’s commitment to independent thinking and a shared ambition, the SAF testing demonstrates how creative minds at Sheffield are shaping solutions to global challenges,” the university stated.
