Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) solution provider SAF One has announced new investment and technology partners for its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project in the Middle East.
SAFFA Fund, an investment fund managed by Burnham Sterling Asset Management (BASM), had pledged to invest a total of US$30M in the project, with US$10M funding made to date, SAF One said on 15 January.
The Dubai-based company said it expected the facility, which will convert used cooking oil (UCO) and other waste oils and fats into SAF,
to break ground this year and be operational by the end of 2028.
“Scaling SAF globally requires collaboration across the ecosystem and SAF One is an ideal partner that has made excellent progress on its project in the Middle East,” said Michael Dickey Morgan, executive managing director of BSAM.
Under the terms of the investment, SAFFA could scale its investment as the project progressed, SAF One said.
“SAF One is delighted to partner with SAFFA and its stakeholders in the funding of our first project that we believe will be the first to deliver SAF out of the Middle East region,” said Mounir Kuzbari, co-founder and executive chair of SAF One.
SAF One also announced two new partners to the project, the location of which was not disclosed, with India’s Tata Projects selected as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) lead and US engineering conglomerate Honeywell UOP providing its Ecofining process technology to produce hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA)-based SAF.
Developed in conjunction with Eni SpA, the Honeywell UOP Ecofining process converts non-edible natural oils, animal fats and other waste feedstocks into renewable diesel and SAF.
SAF One has plans to develop a portfolio of SAF facilities globally, including one in India.
The SAFFA Fund’s objective is to promote SAF production and its co-investors include Airbus, Air France-KLM Group, BNP Paribas, CMA-CGM, Mitsubishi HC Capital and Qantas Airways.
