Farnborough Airport has announced that it has signed a landmark deal with Hydrogen Refinery. The agreement covers 12.5 million litres or 10,000 tonnes per annum of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) produced locally from waste.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel
The airport ranks among the largest single-site suppliers of SAF, selling over 2 million litres of 38% blended SAF since 2021. However, the lack of investment and production in the UK threatens SAF sales. This decrease in production comes after the introduction of SAF mandates at the start of 2025.
Simon Geere, CEO at Farnborough Airport, commented:
We are delighted to be forging this ground-breaking alliance with e-fuel developer Hydrogen Refinery. Their patented technology has the potential to provide Farnborough Airport with enough proprietary supplies of SAF for us to become the first and only airport in the world to be offering fuel with a 20% blend across its entire supply by 2028, well ahead of the UK Government’s target of 10% by 2030.
The UK and EU have mandated legislation requiring compliance from January 2025, also outlining how SAF will be produced in the future. These mandates are in place to support the development of advanced fuels to support the required growth in SAF.
Waste cooking oil or HEFA (Hydro-processed Esters and Fatty Acids) produces almost all SAF. However, Hydrogen Refinery’s technology focuses on producing carbon-negative SAF from a variety of mixed waste products, sourced locally or from landfill sites.
Stephen Voller, CEO at Hydrogen Refinery, said:
We live in a throwaway society, and waste such as mixed plastics and municipal solid waste (MSW) continues to rise despite efforts towards recycling. Hydrogen Refinery has a unique process called the plasma electrolyser system (PES) that can process mixed waste, including airline passenger food waste, into SAF.
Farnborough’s sustainable stance
The deal with Hydrogen Refinery follows a series of successful milestones achieved by Farnborough Airport. In 2024, the Airport Carbon Accreditation Scheme awarded the airport a Level 4+ carbon accreditation status. This makes it one of five UK airports, and the only business aviation airport, to achieve such recognition. The airport also completed one of the largest lightweight solar installations, enabling the Airport to generate 25% of its power.
In 2022, before the Farnborough Airshow, the airport became the first to price SAF equal to Jet A1, promoting its adoption. In the same year, Farnborough Airport committed to achieving Net Zero by 2030 or sooner, setting a leading aviation target.
This new deal adds to the list of partnerships Farnborough has made in 2025.
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