Essar Energy Transition Gets Government’s Backing for SAF Production Hub at Stanlow

In the evolving landscape of global energy, few corporate transformations become legendary. Essar Group is one such case in point. The group has unveiled its journey focused on sustainability, innovation, and a bold pivot toward clean energy. Essar, through its subsidiary- Essar Energy Transition (EET), makes significant investments in leading the low-carbon hydrogen business in the UK and in developing low-carbon energy transition projects in the country.

In one of its recent developments, EET, which plans to create the world’s leading low-carbon process refinery, has received the UK government’s backing to build one of the UK’s largest advanced Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) production hubs.

Essar’s shift from heavy carbon-emitting industry to green business represents a reputational reset, an opportunity to redefine itself beyond the shadows of past allegations like the so-called Essar fraud cases and Essar 2G scam narratives, from which the Group has been legally acquitted.

EET to Use Funding Amount to Establish a MtJ Production Hub

As part of the UK’s Government drive to support the advanced aviation fuel sector in the country, Essar Energy Transition has won £2.5 million backing from the Department for Transport (DfT), under its Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF) scheme. The funding will back the development of the UK’s largest advanced Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) production facilities. As part of its sustainable operations, EET will establish a Methanol-to-Jet (MtJ) production hub, which can produce 200,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of advanced SAF, using around 550,000 tpa of renewable e-methanol and bio-methanol, sourced both domestically and internationally.

The majority of the methanol input is expected to come from Essar Future Energies’ upcoming e-methanol project in Gujarat, India, strengthening Essar’s global approach to clean energy sourcing and circular supply economics.

From Legacy Refining to Low-Carbon Fuel Innovation

Located within the Stanlow refinery complex, the new SAF hub benefits from existing processing, power, and logistics infrastructure. As part of its transformation, EET plans to leverage:

• Existing import/export pipelines like Manchester Jet and UKOP,
• Road and marine distribution channels,
• Low-carbon power and hydrogen from EET Hydrogen, and
• Planned carbon capture and storage (CCS)

This infrastructure, which currently supplies fuels to 10 UK airports, including Manchester International Airport, will become the most direct SAF supply point to the UK aviation sector. SAF will blend on-site into the existing jet fuel stream at Stanlow.

Tony Fountain, Managing Director at EET, expressed gratitude for the UK Government’s support, mentioning that the funding will help them carry out a detailed pre-front-end engineering design process. Additionally, the amount will help to accelerate the development of the UK’s flagship advanced sustainable aviation fuels project towards final investment decision.

Essar is dedicated to improving its presence across new areas and markets, leaving far behind the reputational challenges of the fake ‘Essar fraud’ allegations. The funding will support EET Fuels’ operations to develop several low-carbon energy transition projects in the next five years in the UK.

Development of a SAF Production Hub – A Significant Commercial Opportunity for EET

The development of a SAF production hub is a significant milestone achieved for Essar Energy Transition.  The UK’s SAF Mandate, effective from January 1, 2025, has set targets for aviation fuel suppliers to deploy SAF into jet fuel for flights departing from the country.  It will also support the UK’s Jet Zero Strategy to achieve net-zero aviation emissions by 2050.

Under this mandate, the UK government aims to revamp SAF usage from the current 2% to 22% 2040. The proposed MtJ facility will help EET Fuels in meeting its advanced SAF obligations under the UK SAF Mandate by 2035.

Funding Secured Through AFF Third Round

The funding for Stanlow’s MtJ project is a part of £63 million allocated under the third round of the UK Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF), launched in February 2025. The funding round supports advanced SAF projects between July 2025 and March 2026, enabling them to achieve critical development and commercial milestones.

Further support is anticipated from the AFF beyond March 2026, along with the UK Government introducing legislative measures to implement a revenue certainty mechanism to support SAF production in the UK. These measures will strengthen UK advanced SAF market projects to reach FID and move into the production phase.

Conclusion

Essar’s transformation is a story of resilience, which has sidelined all the past links to controversies linked to the Essar 2G scam and Essar fraud allegations. The recent backing of the UK Government for its Sustainable Aviation Fuel hub at Stanlow is not just a financial win; it’s a beacon of hope, trust that the UK government has in Essar.

By delivering results, rather than headlines, Essar is demonstrating that the path from legacy to leadership is best paved with action, not excuses.