Essar completes pre-FEED for methanol-to-jet fuel project in UK
Essar Energy Transition (EET), which plans to create the world’s leading low carbon process refinery, has completed the Pre-Front End Engineering Design (Pre-FEED) stage for one of the UK’s largest advanced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production hubs.
Integrated within the company’s Stanlow refinery’s infrastructure, the planned Stanlow Methanol to Jet (MtJ) project will produce more than 200,000 tonnes/year of advanced SAF, using approximately 550,000 tpa of renewable e-methanol and bio-methanol feedstock.
Co-locating the MtJ facility with the Stanlow refinery enables on-site blending of the SAF with the Essar Energy Transition Fuels conventional jet fuel volumes. Utilising the existing export infrastructure, including access to the Manchester Jet, Midlands, and UKOP pipeline systems as well as existing road and marine distribution routes, the SAF can be supplied directly to the UK aviation sector, including major UK airports and airlines.
Renewable e-methanol and bio-methanol will be sourced from a range of domestic and international supply sources. Leveraging existing import and storage capabilities provided by Stanlow Terminals Ltd reduces project capital expenditure, whilst enabling access to the most competitive, low cost and low carbon intensity methanol feedstocks.
Part funded (with an up to £2.5 million grant) through the third window of the UK Government’s Department for Transport’s (DfT) Advanced Fuel Fund (AFF), the Pre-FEED stage was completed in partnership with Genesis, our Pre-FEED Contractor. The Pre-FEED included technical and commercial evaluations of the project, addressing critical aspects such as site selection, MtJ technology readiness, integration with refinery facilities, carbon intensity performance and environmental compliance.
The project is now targeting participation in the UK SAF Revenue Certainty Mechanism (RCM) process. The project’s scale, refinery integration, secure logistics, and credible offtake structure will ensure deliverable SAF capacity capable of underpinning long‑term mandate compliance.
Front-end engineering design (FEED) is planned for later this year and Final Investment Decision (FID) by the start of 2028. Collectively, these outcomes confirm the Stanlow MtJ project has transitioned from concept to a delivery‑ready, investment‑grade SAF project.
It adds that the Stanlow MtJ project is a crucial component of Essar’s overall multi-billion-dollar investment programme into energy transition initiatives across the North West of England, supporting the growth of high skilled employment in the North West.
Essar Energy Transition’s development of a North West SAF production hub, backed by a robust regulatory regime, represents a vital opportunity for UK fuel resilience and security, and industrial growth. The UK’s SAF Mandate sets an obligation of 22% of total jet fuel by 2040 and the proposed MtJ facility will play a decisive role in meeting this need. This plant will ensure Essar Energy Transition can meet its own SAF obligations in the 2030s while providing critical spare capacity to decarbonise the broader UK and European aviation sectors.
