Wizz Air has today announced that they have made a £5.0 million investment in biofuel producer Firefly, the carrier’s first equity investment in SAF research and development. The SAF will be made from sewage sludge and will power Wizz’s UK operations from 2028.
On Monday (April 24, 2023), Wizz Air announced that they have made a £5.0 million investment in biofuel company Firefly, the airline’s first equity investment in a SAF producer. The investment will help support Firefly’s development and certification of SAF made from sewage sludge. The partnership will allow the carrier to supply SAF to their UK operations from 2028, up to 525,000 tonnes over 15 years, saving 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. Firefly specializes in turning sewage sludge into SAF. With over 57 million tonnes of sewage sludge produced in the UK each year, this abundant low-value waste product has the potential to produce 250,000 tonnes of SAF.
In Monday’s announcement, Wizz Air’s Head of Strategic Products, Michael Berlouis, said,
“In addition to fleet renewal and operational efficiency, SAF is crucial for reducing carbon emissions from aviation. However, feedstock availability remains the key challenge for the industry. Our investment in Firefly and its sewage sludge SAF technology is a major step forward for Wizz Air in securing its long-term ability to provide low-cost fares to its customers in an ever more environmentally sustainable way. From 2028, we are aiming to procure 525,000 tonnes of SAF from Firefly over a period of 15 years. This has the potential to reduce our emissions by 100,000 tonnes CO2-eq per year, which is equal to the emissions of over 12,000 return Wizz Air flights between London and Budapest.”
Also commenting on the new strategic partnership, Firefly Green Fuels’ CEO, James Hygate, said,
“We are thrilled to be establishing a partnership with Wizz Air. The investment will accelerate the commercialisation of our game-changing Firefly process, with the binding offtake agreement saving a staggering 1.5m tonnes of carbon emissions. Firefly will facilitate a step change towards the future of air travel. The feedstock, sewage sludge, is available in vast quantities globally and with Firefly we can put it to a truly beneficial use, reducing the use of fossil fuels in the hardest to decarbonise areas.”
Firefly’s SAF will be independently certified against the leading sustainability standard, RSB, and is projected to deliver a 90 percent lifecycle reduction of GHG emissions compared to conventional fossil fuel-based jet fuel. The company hopes to have their first plant in operation withing the next five years.
Source: Wizz Air Holdings PLC/Reach, RNS Number: 2135X
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