Wednesday, January 22, 2025 IAG has made a pivotal investment in Wastefront, a company at the forefront of tyre recycling technology, to create Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from waste tyres. Through an advanced process, used tyres will be converted into tyre-derived oil, which will then be refined into SAF and road fuels. This initiative is poised to achieve over 80% reduction in life cycle carbon emissions compared to traditional fossil fuels.
This partnership not only strengthens IAG’s commitment to accelerating SAF development but also empowers Wastefront to construct its first fully circular tyre-to-fuel plant at the Port of Sunderland. Set to commence operations in 2026, the Sunderland facility will reach full capacity by 2027, processing up to 10 million tyres annually. With the UK generating around 50 million end-of-life tyres each year, this plant will offer a sustainable alternative to current practices, which often involve exporting tyres for incineration in cement kilns or disposal in landfills.
This facility aligns with the UK’s SAF mandate, implemented on January 1, 2025, which aims for at least 10% of jet fuel used on flights departing the UK to be sourced from sustainable feedstocks by 2030, increasing to 22% by 2040. Meeting the UK’s 2030 SAF target will require scaling production to 1.2 million tonnes annually—a stark contrast to the estimated 64,000 tonnes produced in 2023, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
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