Wizz Air and Firefly partner to develop SAF from human waste

Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier Wizz Air and U.K. biofuel company Firefly have announced a partnership that aims to power 10% of flights operated by the carrier with sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) produced out of human waste by the year 2030.

The Firefly plant located in Harwich, Essex, will be converted to convert human feces into SAF of which they are planning to deliver up to 525,000 tonnes over 15 years starting in 2028.

This initiative is part of Wizz Air’s effort to reduce its carbon emission per passenger/km by 25% by 2030. The aviation industry as a whole has set itself a very ambitious target to be carbon neutral by the year 2050, and according to IATA (International Air Transport Association), 80% of the reduction in emissions will be achieved through the use of SAF.

In February 2023 Wizz Air announced a similar agreement with Finnish group Neste for the supply of up to 36,000 tons of SAF over the period of three years starting from 2025. Neste MY SAF is produced from renewable waste and residues such as used cooking oil and animal fat waste.

Other airlines such as Swiss, Ryanair, Etihad Airways, and Southwest Airlines have already made similar agreements to source SAF from Neste or other companies.

Currently, the main issue with the sustainability targets pursued by the aviation industry is the lack of large-scale availability of SAF and the supply chain that is supposed to deliver it where it is needed at airports around the world. SAF is intended to work with the existing technology as far as engines and aircraft are concerned and can deliver a reduction of up to 80% in greenhouse gas emissions due to the oxygen-positive and CO2-negative effects during the production phase of its lifecycle.

When burned to power jet engines, SAF generates similar amounts of greenhouse gases as traditional oil-based fuels, but since they absorb those gases during their production phase, the net result of their impact on the environment is significantly lower.

In addition to that, SAFs are generated from renewable resources, unlike oil-based fuels: “There are enough biosolids in the U.K. to satisfy half of the mandated SAF demand in 2030” said Paul Hilditch, Firefly‘s chief operating officer. A utility company has committed to providing the biosolid needed by Firefly during the initial pilot phase, the BBC reports. The biosolids are a product of the waste water treatment process.