Sheffield to host Sustainable Aviation Fuels Innovation Centre

The centre will act as a ‘clearing house’ with facilities to test, validate and certify new sustainable aviation fuels. 

Jointly funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Sheffield University, SAF-IC will be the first centre in Europe to be able to capture CO2, produce green hydrogen, convert them into sustainable aviation fuels and analyse their performance from a single location.

Described in the announcement as the ‘missing link’ to help bring sustainable aviation fuels to market, the clearing house facility aims to accelerate regulatory approvals of new fuels and give the UK certification capabilities.

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Any new aviation fuel must undergo significant fit-for-purpose testing before it can be safely introduced to market. Technology and processes to produce sustainable fuels currently exist, but many producers, particularly SMEs, require support to scale up production and formally test their fuel.