The facility is the result of a collaboration between British Airways and Solena Fuels

Apr 17, 2014 08:16 GMT  ·  By
British Airways and Solent Fuels announces plans to build landfill-waste-to-jet-fuel facility in Essex
   British Airways and Solent Fuels announces plans to build landfill-waste-to-jet-fuel facility in Essex

This past April 16, British Airways announced that, in collaboration with Solena Fuels, it was to begin work on the world's first landfill-waste-to-jet-fuel facility. The airline further detailed that, should things go according to plan, the facility would be completed sometime in 2017.

In a press release on the matter at hand, British Airways explains that this facility is to be located in the Thames Enterprise Park in Thurrock, Essex. The airline expects that, when up and running, it will pretty much revolutionize the production of eco-friendly aviation fuel.

According to British Airways, the facility will serve to process about 585,000 tonnes of waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill or incinerated on a yearly basis. In doing so, it will roll out some 120,000 tonnes of clean burning liquid fuels annually.

Interestingly enough, the airline promises that, of the 120,000 tonnes of sustainable jet fuel that will be produced at this facility yearly, it will purchase some 50,000 at market competitive rates.

“The construction of the GreenSky London fuel facility at Thames Enterprise Park will lay the foundations for British Airways to reduce its carbon emissions significantly,” Willie Walsh, the current chief executive of British Airways’ parent company IAG, said in a statement.

“The sustainable jet fuel produced each year will be enough to power our flights from London City Airport twice over with carbon savings the equivalent of taking 150,000 cars off the road,” he added.

It is estimated that, during its construction phase, the facility will employ about 1,000 workers. Once up and running at full capacity, it will support about 150 permanent jobs. Hence, it can be argued that this facility will not only help improve on the ecological footprint of the aviation sector, but will also benefit the economy.

By the looks of it, Solena Fuels will be the one in charge of making sure the facility properly deals with waste and turns it into jet fuel. Thus, the company is to use a so-called high temperature plasma gasification technology to turn waste into synthetic gas. The resulting gas will then be converted into liquid hydrocarbons.

“We are excited to help British Airways achieve its sustainability goals by providing an innovative solution to produce drop-in jet fuel. We are looking forward to successfully building GreenSky London and partnering with British Airways on additional facilities in the United Kingdom,” said Robert Do, the current president and CEO of Solena Fuels.

Check out the video below to learn how the landfill-waste-to-jet-fuel process works.