Decarbonisation Technology November 2025 Issue

○ Fuel synthesis : The FT process is used to synthesise long-chain hydrocarbons from the syngas generated by SOEC. ○ Refining : These hydrocarbons are then refined into synthetic kerosene, certified under ASTM D7566, suitable for blending with Jet A-1 aviation fuel. Investors: the hidden partner Many of the e-SAF projects progressing towards Final Investment Decision today are those where investors enter as partners, perhaps contributing by inputting into engineering design, facilitating strategic relationships with key organisations (like utilities), or underwriting offtake agreements. This trend is quickly becoming symptomatic of e-SAF, which is commonly seen not only as an investment opportunity but as a chance to shape the broader direction of the aviation industry and Britain’s industrial future. Looking outside of ASAP-DAC, SkyNRG’s long-standing partnership with KLM demonstrates how early offtake and later institutional backing from funds like APG and Macquarie can de-risk projects, not only by providing capital but by anchoring demand and influencing governance. Similarly, Wizz Air’s £5 million equity investment in Firefly Green Fuels shows how airlines can act as strategic investors, directly shaping the scale-up of SAF technology while securing long-term fuel supply. In both cases, investor involvement strengthens credibility with EPC contractors, regulators, and future lenders. The model extends beyond Europe. In Chile, HIF Global’s Haru Oni project integrates DAC in partnership with Porsche and Volkswagen, showing how downstream players can underwrite technology risk and help create viable pathways for e-fuels. The Haru Oni project is similar in many ways to ASAP- DAC and provides insight into how investor partnerships could shape the project. Government’s role As the AFF grant announcement showed, Government stakeholders are essential to the success of a project like ASAP-DAC. Yet the support the government gives to new industries like e-fuels goes beyond the financial.

The UK Government is also supporting e-SAF through two essential policy proposals. The first is the UK SAF mandate, which requires fuel suppliers to blend increasing amounts of sustainable aviation fuel into the jet fuel supply over time. An increasing percentage will need to be e-SAF throughout the 2030s. This is similar to the EU’s ReFuel mandate, which requires an increasing proportion of the blend to be e-SAF, though the EU’s mandate starts slower and scales more rapidly. This places commercial-scale e-SAF producers like CNF in an enviable position: good UK demand for their first offtakes and a hungry secondary market in the EU as we get closer to 2050. ASAP- DAC is particularly well-positioned – its FOAK commercial facility is designed to meet more than 35% of the UK’s e-SAF mandate in its first year of operation. Makers of SAF in the UK have another policy driver, too. The Revenue Certainty Mechanism is on track to pass into law in 2026. Employing “ E-SAF is commonly seen not only as an investment opportunity but as a chance to shape the broader direction of the aviation industry and Britain’s industrial future ” a mechanism similar to Contracts for Difference, it will provide a guaranteed strike price for producers, significantly de-risking investment and thus stimulating an indigenous supply of SAF. Still, this does raise the question of why the Government is so keen to support e-fuels. The aviation sector is an unlikely hero in the UK’s march to Net-Zero 2050. It is projected to be responsible for around 24% of global CO 2 emissions by 2040, the largest of any sector. Batteries and hydrogen may help other forms of transport, but for long-haul flights, the weight and energy density challenges remain unsolved. That is where e-SAF really steps up – it is a drop-in substitution. That means no retrofitting of costly engines (both financially and environmentally) and, importantly, a timely solution to meet near-term policy requirements. Not only have successive governments now recognised e-SAF’s essential role in meeting net-zero goals, but it also has the potential to