Willis Sustainable Fuels, Green Finance Institute launch accelerator to advance UK’s SAF infrastructure

Willis Sustainable Fuels (U.K.) Ltd., a subsidiary of Willis Lease Finance Corp., and the Green Finance Institute, an independent advisor to governments and investors, have announced a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project accelerator to bring WSF’s pioneering SAF project at Wilton International in Teesside to final-investment decision (FID) and establish a replicable blueprint for financing new homegrown transition projects.

Since the start of 2025, the U.K.’s SAF mandate requires increasing levels of SAF in the U.K.’s jet-fuel supply to reach 10 percent in 2030 and 22 percent in 2040.

Under the mandate, the economic, energy-security and innovation benefits of expanding domestic SAF production are compelling.

This policy stability provides a strong, long-term demand signal to accelerate SAF growth, but the challenge remains in reaching bankability.

WSF said its Teesside project is one of the U.K.’s most advanced second-generation SAF projects, using existing, proven technology to make SAF from waste.

Targeting 14,000 metric tons of production per year, the project supports national energy security by reducing reliance on imported fuels and anchors new green-industry jobs in the northeast by converting mainly U.K. biomethane into next-generation jet fuel.

This project has been funded £7.6 million (USD$10.1 million) through two rounds of the U.K. government’s Advanced Fuels Fund.

Before committing capital to transactions in this nascent sector, financiers need to address risks including technology performance, feedstock and price/revenue certainty.

While the U.K. mandate provides strong long-term demand certainty, developers need to assemble a complex mix of public and private de-risking tools to meet these requirements.

With a track record of mobilizing £77 billion (USD$102.7 billion) in committed capital to drive the transition and as a key advisor in shaping the U.K.’s SAF mandate, GFI’s SAF program will focus on helping leading projects reach FID in 2026.

The “accelerator” platform is designed to remove financing barriers and develop solutions that attract private-sector investment into pioneering projects.

Key objectives of the accelerator include:

• Developing innovative financing and de-risking strategies for SAF infrastructure.

• Identifying regulatory and financial gaps that, if addressed, could enable advanced SAF projects to reach FID and deliver volumes aligned with the U.K. SAF mandate.

• Convening private- and public-sector market participants to develop solutions that address bankability gaps.

• Establishing a replicable model for turning policy ambition into built, investable clean-energy infrastructure as a number of U.K. projects seek to reach FID in the coming year.

“This partnership with the GFI is a vital step in demonstrating the commercial viability of SAF projects in the U.K.,” said Amy Ruddock, the director of Willis Sustainable Fuels. “Together, we aim to create a blueprint for financing solutions that will accelerate the transition to low-carbon aviation.”

GFI CEO Rhian-Mari Thomas added, “Our collaboration with WSF exemplifies how strategic partnerships across the value chain can unlock investment for innovative technologies. By launching this accelerator approach, we aim to scale SAF production to support the U.K.’s ambitions for a homegrown SAF industry.”

Both organizations will also collaborate on communicating best practice and lessons learned from this process to raise visibility for SAF financing solutions within the U.K.’s transition finance ecosystem.