Spanish petroleum logistics firm Exolum has announced plans to build a £4.5M (US$6M) sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blending facility at Redcliffe Bay in south-west England, as part of its plans for a UK-wide network of SAF blending hubs.
Expected to be operational from 2026, the facility would be the first of a new UK-wide network of SAF blending hubs the company has planned as part of its 2,000km pipeline network, to provide SAF producers and importers with market access to the jet fuel for 40% of flights leaving the UK’s airports.
By blending customers’ SAF into Exolum’s national aviation fuel pipeline network, the investment would boost SAF supplies to airports across southern England and Wales, including those at Heathrow, Gatwick, Bristol, Exeter and Cardiff, Exolum said on 15 October.
Unblended SAF would initially be delivered by ships to Bristol’s Royal Portbury Dock and then transported to Exolum’s Redcliffe Bay site by pipeline, where it would be stored and blended on-site with conventional aviation fuel.
The company said the project involved infrastructure upgrades to Exolum’s existing aviation fuel pipeline storage and pumping station at Redcliffe Bay, on the banks of the Severn Estuary near Bristol, including:
The conversion of existing aviation fuel storage tanks to handle SAF, prior to being blended with conventional aviation fuel.
The installation of SAF blending infrastructure within existing tanks to ensure SAF is blended with conventional aviation fuel to the correct technical standards.
The addition of new pumps, filtration systems and segregation valves to circulate SAF between storage tanks and to pump into the pipeline network.
“Exolum’s investment at Redcliffe Bay is helping secure the UK’s world-leading position at the forefront of global sustainable aviation,” said Exolum North West Europe lead Stephen Land.
Active in 11 countries (Ecuador, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Spain, the UK and the USA), Exolum operates a 6,000km pipeline network, 69 storage terminals and 47 airport facilities, with a total storage capacity of more than 11M m³.
In addition to managing three storage terminals in the Spanish municipalities of Santurce, Zierbena and Rivabellosa, the company has operations at Bilbao and San Sebastián airports.
The company also operates a 152km pipeline connecting the three terminals with its refinery in Muskiz, the Port of Bilbao and the rest of the company’s pipeline network.
