Proposed UK SAF plant could deliver 53% of 2035 target production
Collaborative industry consortium GRAMM (Green Renewable Aviation Maritime & Mobility) has formally applied to the UK’s Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF) for help supporting its proposed SAF project, promising to deliver 53.5% of the UK’s 2035 SAF target “at the market-leading price” from its site in the north-west of England.
GRAMM is seeking a £5.3 million AFF grant for the pre-front end engineering design (FEED), to be matched with £1.55 million of funding from other parties. To reach a final investment decision by the end of 2026, an additional £50 million will be required, with “several prominent equity investors” (as well as the UK National Wealth Fund) already lined up, explained GRAMM CEO Alexander Peschkoff. Along with three as-yet undisclosed additional strategic equity investors planning to come onboard, it is also expected that TotalEnergies will also become an investor. “Their C-suite likes our project and the strategic fit it provides,” elaborated Peschkoff.
Initially focusing on bio-SAF, the GRAMM SAF production technology is also ‘Power-to-Liquid (PtL) ready,’ Peschkoff clarified. In its first year of operation (2030), the plant aims to produce 125Kt of carbon-negative SAF, doubling its output by 2032. Co-producing both biofuel and PtL in a ratio of up to 50:50, planned PtL output from 2035 will be pro-rata as per the corresponding obligations under the UK SAF mandate.
Crucially, the GRAMM SAF project will be the “first-of-a-kind” initiative and the first to deploy BioTfueL technology, developed by TotalEnergies, Axens and thyssenkrupp Uhde; combined with carbon capture and sequestration. GRAMM is currently also the only BiTfueL customer focusing on biomass feedstock (such as agricultural, forestry and processing residues).
The proposed production site in Cumbria’s Royal Port of Barrow would form part of Associated British Ports’ intention to create a local engineering cluster, of which GRAMM’s large-scale SAF facility would form a key element. Nearby GRAMM project partner Spirit Energy is also intending to repurpose the depleted Morecambe Bay Gas Fields in Barrow into a carbon storage facility.
To date, GRAMM has attracted what it terms “strong industry backing” from technology platform provider BioTfueL, technology licensor Axens and industrial solutions provider Thyssenkrupp. It states that the funding from the UK AFF would “enable the GRAMM consortium to move from planning to implementation, making this visionary project a reality”.
“As home to two of the UK’s airports, Net Zero North West recognised in our manifesto the importance of providing a resilient supply of significant volumes of sustainable fuel to support the aviation industry,” said Jane Gaston, CEO of Net Zero North West. “Our own work in developing the North West Industrial Cluster Plan shows that the North West is uniquely placed to deliver transformational projects such as this”.
Since it was first launched in 2022, the UK’s Advanced Fuels Fund has made £200 million of investment to a total of 14 successful candidates over two funding calls. Described by the Department for Transportation (DfT) as an important initiative in mitigating risk and scaling SAF production – providing grant funding to first-of-a-kind commercial and demonstration-scale projects in the UK – a third extension to allocate a further £63 million was announced earlier this year.
