Alternative fuels

The UK aviation industry has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. While lighter, more efficiently powered aircraft are being developed, current aircraft, which will remain in operation until the 2030s, need to be less reliant on unsustainable fossil fuels.

What's challenging about commercialising alternative fuel innovations?

Up to 70% of global emissions from the aviation industry can be reduced if fossil fuels are replaced by SAF derived from feedstocks that include waste. However, many of the existing solutions for SAF production, primarily developed in the USA, have not been compatible with the renewable feedstocks available in the UK.

How is CPI enabling alternative fuel solutions?

We're supporting the global push to replace fossil fuels with less carbon-intensive alternatives by harnessing our gas fermentation technology and expertise to help deliver more sustainable aviation fuel. At our world-leading facilities, we're exploring processes to capture waste industrial greenhouse and renewable gases, to transform them into aviation fuel that could contribute to a reduction of up to 70% in CO₂ emissions across the fuel lifecycle.

Our current cross-sector collaborations will help prove this fuel's viability and explore the optimal route to bringing these fuels to market, establishing the UK as a significant innovator in the SAF space.