Factory to turn used tyres into jet fuel

The parent company of British Airways has announced an investment into a company planning to convert used tyres into jet fuel.

International Airlines Group (IAG) said its funding will enable Wastefront to begin construction on a £100m factory producing sustainable aviation fuel (Saf) in Sunderland.

The plant is expected to begin operating in 2026 and will reach full capacity the following year.

It hopes to process up to 10 million waste tyres annually.

IAG said the UK generates about 50 million waste tyres each year, which are mostly sent to countries such as India where they are incinerated or buried in the ground.

The production of Saf is claimed to use about 70% less carbon than for conventional jet fuel, but it is currently much more expensive to make.

The UK introduced a mandate on 1 January which requires flights from UK airports to use a minimum amount of Saf.

It must make up at least 2% of all jet fuel used in flights in 2025 and the percentage will rise annually, reaching 10% in 2030 and 22% in 2034.

The Department for Transport has described the requirement - which applies to aviation fuel suppliers - as "ambitious but achievable".

The Government has pledged to introduce a revenue certainty mechanism to reduce the financial risks for Saf producers in an attempt to attract investment in new UK plants.

Vianney Vales, chief executive of Wastefront, said it aims to turn a "problematic waste stream into a highly valuable resource".

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