Sustainable Aviation Fuels to Be Driven by New Boeing and University of Sheffield Partnership

Boeing has become the founding member of the University of Sheffield’s new Energy Innovation Centre, which will be driving research into low carbon technologies.

The leading aerospace company has entered into this partnership, with a view to developing sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Made from feedstock resources, these have the potential to greatly and immediately reduce CO2 emissions and can even be blended with traditional fossil fuels (by up to 50%), without modifications to aeroplanes or their engines.

Boeing has committed to delivering commercial aeroplanes that are capable and certified to fly on 100% SAF by the year 2030. That’s why they have signed an exciting research partnership with the University of Sheffield, to become founding members of the Energy Innovation Centre.

This hub will offer industry partners access to two of the University’s newest world-class research facilities. There is the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Innovation Centre (SAF-IC), a first-of-its-kind facility in the UK, and the Translational Energy Research Centre (TERC), which will contain pilot-scale production facilities suitable for investigating different methods of producing SAF.

Boeing is set to use the partnership to test, develop and assess new sustainable aviation fuels, which are vital to reducing carbon emissions in the industry and reaching net zero.

About this, Professor Koen Lamberts, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University Sheffield, said: “At a time when the UK’s commitment to net zero is questioned and debated, R&D into low carbon technologies and products couldn’t be more important. We are delighted to welcome Boeing as a founding partner of the University of Sheffield Energy Innovation Centre. Our partnership with Boeing spans over 20 years, and together we are committed to developing the type of innovation needed to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”

Meanwhile, Sir Martin Donnelly, President of Boeing Europe and Managing Director of Boeing in the UK and Ireland, said: “Boeing has a long history in South Yorkshire, having set up the AMRC to drive innovation in aerospace manufacturing, and subsequently opening our first European manufacturing site there. This opportunity to build upon our existing partnerships with Sheffield and to build new ones, while also working toward a more sustainable future for aviation, is a great privilege for us.”

You can find out more about this and the other work being done at the University of Sheffield here.