From biogas to sustainable aviation fuel
Follow Renovare Fuels' work as we develop a route that could reduce aviation's reliance on fossil jet fuel.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is a liquid fuel made from renewable feedstocks rather than crude oil. It is designed to be a "drop-in" replacement for conventional fossil jet fuel — chemically similar enough to be blended with, or in some pathways fully substitute, standard Jet-A1 without requiring changes to aircraft or airport fuel infrastructure. Because it is derived from waste or renewable carbon sources rather than extracted fossil carbon, SAF can reduce the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with flying, though the level of reduction depends on the feedstock and production pathway used.
Renovare Fuels intends to use biogas — the methane and CO₂ mixture produced when organic material breaks down without oxygen — as its feedstock. This biogas arises from sources including:
- Landfill gas
- Anaerobic digestion of food and agricultural waste
- Wastewater treatment biogas
- Dairy and livestock waste
Renovare's proprietary process is designed to convert raw biogas directly into liquid hydrocarbon intermediates in a single step, without a separate biomethane-upgrading stage. The process incorporates the CO₂ present in raw biogas as a process input rather than venting it. Those liquid intermediates are then intended to be further processed into SAF and renewable diesel. The technology was developed through a multi-year research programme involving the US Department of Energy and NASA, and has operated at pilot scale in the United States.
Status as of September 2026 — reviewed periodically.
The pilot plant has operated at five sites in the United States. Pilot renewable diesel produced through the process has achieved EN590 and ASTM D975 accreditation.
UK manufacture and testing are required to progress ASTM D7566 accreditation for the SAF pathway. This has not yet been achieved. A first commercial facility is in development at Craigmore, Northern Ireland, with planning permission secured and initial engineering design completed.
Relocation and commissioning of the pilot plant to the UK, and progression of the ASTM SAF accreditation programme, are the near-term priorities ahead of construction at Craigmore.
- UK SAF Mandate — Department for Transport, Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate
- ASTM D7566 — Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons (ASTM International)
- EN 590 — European standard for automotive diesel fuel