A TEESSIDE chemical firm is working to revolutionise air travel by leading on the development of clean, sustainable aviation fuel.

Nova Pangaea Technologies, based at Redcar’s Wilton International, is a clean technologies firm which has established a process called REFNOVA to create biochemicals and biofuels from plant biomass.

It was recently awarded £484,201 as part of Government’s Green Fuels, Green Skies competition to help develop sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production plants in the UK. The company has also raised a further £2.4million in funding and plans to build its first commercial plant in the UK, with Teesside being considered strongly as the location.

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It has formed a partnership with British Airways and technology specialists LanzaJet for a feasibility study into the design of a facility producing more than 100million litres of SAF per year from woody residues, integrating technology developed by the firm and LanzaJet.

Sarah Ellerby, CEO at Nova Pangaea Technologies, said: “It’s an exciting time as we scale-out our plant into commercial production and deliver sustainable alternatives to fossil-based products right here on Teesside.

"We have the opportunity to enable decarbonisation within sectors such as transportation and industrial and Teesside has the infrastructure, people and skills to support our first commercial plant - NOVAONE."

During a visit yesterday, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen was joined by Michael Moore, Director General of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.

Mayor Houchen said: “The visit was an eye-opening experience as to just what is possible in these industries and it was fantastic to hear that the company has earmarked our region for a commercial plant too.

“Alternative and sustainable fuel sources for planes are increasingly becoming a pressing issue for the aviation sector as it works to do its bit to decarbonise and shift its focus onto renewables, as the industrial and energy sectors are also doing."

 

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