Hot on the heels on Virgin Atlantic’s SAF deal with Neste Oyi , its parent Virgin Group has signed a strategic partnership to research and develop lower carbon fuel facilities to help address plastic pollution.
The agreement with Agilyx, a chemical conversion technology company, will see Virgin reuse plastic waste – that otherwise would be un-recycled – to produce synthetic crude oil, which will then be refined into a lower carbon fuel.
Virgin Group wants to provide lower carbon fuel solutions to the global-market and expects Virgin Atlantic and other Virgin companies to be early adopters, as part of the Group’s transitional plans of achieving net zero by 2050.
Virgin Group intends to work with Agilyx – whom it has been an investor in for many years – to develop the production facilities based on its unique conversion technology.
The first waste-to-fuel location is planned to be in the US, with an aspiration to roll-out similar plants in other countries, including the UK.
Shai Weiss, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, said: “In this decade, Sustainable Aviation Fuel is the key solution for decarbonisation of the aviation sector but we have a long way to go. Clearing the skies for tomorrow requires radical collaboration across innovators, producers, investors and airlines.
“We are delighted that Virgin Group and Agilyx are leading the charge to pilot new pathways in lower carbon fuels and we look forward to working closely with them to achieve our 10% SAF target by 2030.”
Josh Bayliss, CEO of the Virgin Group, added: “The creation of lower carbon fuel is an important step in the journey towards net zero. We are very pleased to be adding this project to the range of investments we continue to make aimed at addressing these issues.”
