Northumbrian Water has launched a £6.5 million project to develop sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using algae cultivated in wastewater. The initiative, known as the “Green Machine,” will extract nitrogen and phosphorus from domestic sewage at the Bran Sands Treatment Works in Teesside, converting it into biofuel.
The project is being developed in partnership with US-based BrightWave, which supplies photobioreactors for algae cultivation, and Ligoflux, a specialist in algae harvesting technology. If successful, it could reduce operational costs by up to £1 million per year and support Northumbrian Water’s net zero goals.
This initiative aligns with the UK Government’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate, which requires 10% of all jet fuel used in UK flights to come from sustainable sources by 2030.
