Altalto (Immingham) Ltd is a company set up by Velocys to develop SAF projects in the UK. The plant is expected to be operational in 2030. Initial targets include the production of 30 million litres (23 000 t) of SAF per year for the UK market in support of the SAF Mandate.
Feedstocks will be sourced from residual municipal solid waste (MSW) and commercial and industrial (C&I) waste.
The project has been awarded a grant from the Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund to progress Basic Engineering Design. The SAF from the plant will be enough to power over 500 flights from London to New York per year.
NX Circular gasification technology allows the plant to convert waste by generating synthesis gas (syngas), which is subsequently transformed to SynCrude through Velocys’ Fischer-Tropsch technology and upgraded to high-quality sustainable fuels. The application of this solution, combined with NX CPO technology, offers an efficient design. NX CPO ensures an advanced process to produce synthesis gas via controlled partial oxidation through a very fast reaction. When applied to synthetic fuel production, this versatile technology is contributing to maximising overall yield while minimising carbon intensity of the product.
MyRechemical will operate as a technology provider and as coordinator for other technological partners. It will also supply engineering services supported by NEXTCHEM’s NX Engineering District in Catania and involve other sister companies of the MAIRE Group. Altalto expects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 100 000 tpy of carbon dioxide equivalent (including CCS), valorise residual waste, and create about 100 permanent jobs. The project will also generate an additional 1000 direct and 300 indirect jobs during construction. Altalto is aiming to significantly improving the UK balance of payments by reducing fuel imports while generating substantial investment and export opportunities for the country.
Fabio Fritelli, Managing Director of NEXTCHEM, commented: “This award confirms the validity and flexibility of our technological proposal, which meets the needs of players in the mobility sector, particularly in aviation where decarbonisation is of paramount importance.”