Kent Advances UK Power-to-Liquids SAF Plant with Government Funding

Engineering company Kent will deliver the preliminary design for a new Power-to-Liquids (PtL) sustainable aviation fuel plant in the United Kingdom, following a successful bid for government funding. The project, named Eq.flight, secured a grant from the UK's Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF) to proceed with the Pre-Front-End Engineering Design (Pre-FEED) phase. This development marks a critical step in the UK's effort to establish a domestic supply chain for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and meet its ambitious decarbonization targets.

The Eq.flight project is designed to demonstrate a scalable pathway for producing synthetic kerosene, a key component of jet fuel, using renewable electricity, water, and captured carbon dioxide. According to a Kent press release, the PtL SAF produced through this process has the potential to reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90% compared to conventional fossil-based jet fuel. The funding allows Kent and its partners, including project originators Equilibrion, to advance a novel design that integrates several advanced technologies for the first time in the UK.

Technology and Project Scope

The core of the Eq.flight demonstration plant design involves a highly integrated technological process. The facility will utilize solid oxide electrolysis to produce green hydrogen, which is then combined with captured carbon dioxide in a reverse water-gas shift process. The resulting syngas is subsequently converted into synthetic crude oil via Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, a proven method for producing liquid hydrocarbons. This synthetic crude is then refined into drop-in sustainable aviation fuel.

Equilibrion Co-founders Caroline Longman and Phil Rogers stated, “Eq.flight enables us to bring advanced electrolysis and synthesis technologies together in a way that hasn't been demonstrated in the UK before. The insights gained through this phase will be critical in shaping future commercial projects.”

The long-term commercial concept for the Eq.flight project also includes a nuclear-enabled energy route. This approach highlights a growing industry trend toward using consistent, high-capacity, low-carbon energy sources like nuclear power to ensure stable and efficient SAF production, overcoming the intermittency challenges associated with some other forms of renewable energy.

Regulatory Context and National Strategy

The project is directly aligned with the UK government's overarching aviation decarbonization policy. The Jet Zero Strategy, published by the United Kingdom Department for Transport (UK DfT), sets a target for the UK to achieve net-zero aviation by 2050. A central pillar of this strategy is the rapid scale-up of domestic SAF production, with a goal to have at least five commercial SAF plants under construction by 2025.

To create market demand and provide investment certainty, the government has implemented a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate. This regulation requires fuel suppliers to ensure that 10% of all jet fuel supplied in the UK is sustainable by 2030, with the target rising to 22% by 2040. The mandate also includes a specific sub-target for PtL fuels, underscoring the strategic importance of projects like Eq.flight.

The Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF), which is providing the grant for the Eq.flight Pre-FEED study, is the primary government mechanism for de-risking and accelerating these capital-intensive projects. By providing early-stage funding, the UK DfT aims to help innovative SAF technologies bridge the gap from concept to commercial viability.

Les Newman, Managing Director for the UK at Kent, commented on the development, stating, “Eq.flight marks a meaningful step in the UK's drive to build a domestic sustainable aviation fuel sector. With stronger policy support now in place in the UK, the opportunity for projects like this to move toward commercial reality is growing.”

What Comes Next

With the AFF funding secured, Kent will proceed with the Pre-FEED study for the Eq.flight demonstration plant. This engineering phase will establish the technical specifications, initial cost estimates, and project timeline required for a subsequent Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) stage. The outcomes of this study will be crucial for making a final investment decision and securing further private and public financing to move toward construction.

The success of the Eq.flight demonstrator and other AFF-backed projects will be vital for the UK to meet its 2025 target of having five plants under construction. The insights from this design phase will inform the development of full-scale commercial facilities, which are essential for producing the volume of SAF needed to comply with the 2030 mandate.

Why This Matters

This government-funded design project is significant because it advances a critical technology pathway—Power-to-Liquids—essential for the long-term decarbonization of aviation. Unlike SAF derived from biofuels, PtL production is not constrained by feedstock availability and offers a route to truly scalable, low-carbon fuel. The project's success would provide a blueprint for future commercial plants in the UK, strengthening the country's energy security and positioning it as a leader in advanced aviation fuel technology.

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