Leading African airline Kenya Airways has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Rubis Energy Kenya, a subsidiary of French energy company Rubis Énergie, to develop the first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) refinery on the African continent.
Based in Nairobi, the project would establish a framework for the joint engineering, financing and operation of a facility designed to produce low-carbon fuel from local waste feedstocks, Kenya Airways said on 10 May.
The refinery would use Dragonfly’s modular technology to process feedstocks, including waste animal fats, used cooking oil and other vegetable oils, and was expected to have a production capacity of 32,000 tonnes/year.
By locating the facility near Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), the partnership aimed to integrate production directly with existing infrastructure.
George Kamal, acting group managing director and CEO of Kenya Airways, said the project addressed the urgent need to decarbonise the aviation sector.
“Currently, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport consumes 2.9M litres of jet fuel every day, an amount equal to filling the tanks of 52,727 family cars,” he said.
“While we currently depend entirely on imports, this refinery allows us to produce a sustainable, local version of that fuel.”
Jean-Christian Bergeron, co-managing partner of Rubis and CEO of Rubis Énergie, said the project was in line with the company’s roadmap to deliver low-carbon energy solutions around the world, with a focus on bringing opportunities to Africa.
“Our priority will be technology transfer and ensuring that training is provided for local skills development so that the facility and associated supply chains will be operated and managed by Kenyans,” he added.
Dragonfly, the United Arab Emirates-headquartered company Rubis has partnered with to provide modular SAF refineries, planned to bring the facility online within 24 months.
“A Dragonfly refinery can be sited close to both the feedstock and consumers of the fuel, and utilise the existing Rubis infrastructure to provide a long-term daily supply of SAF to Kenya Airways at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport,” said Karl W Feilder, CEO of Dragonfly.
