LanzaTech has taken the difficult decision not to proceed with development of a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production facility in Port Talbot at this time.

This is not a decision we have taken lightly. LanzaTech has been working to establish a project in Port Talbot since 2012, and throughout that period we have received constructive and positive support from Welsh and UK Government, Neath Port Talbot Council and local stakeholders. We are grateful for that engagement and for the shared ambition to bring first-of-a-kind clean fuels infrastructure to Wales. 

The original project was designed to capture waste gases from the Tata steel mill blast furnaces and convert them into ethanol, which would then be processed into SAF at Port Talbot. The closure of the blast furnaces removed that opportunity, so we examined an alternative configuration in which imported ethanol would be converted into SAF at the site. However, despite extensive efforts to improve the economics the Port Talbot site remains significantly more expensive for SAF production than alternatives due to a series of site-specific factors. Compared with sites that already have this infrastructure in place, the capital costs at Port Talbot are not competitive, and even with the welcome public support available, the project does not currently reach the threshold needed for a viable investment decision. 

Following the closure of the Tata blast furnaces we also explored options to produce ethanol elsewhere in Wales to supply the project. This included development of an ethanol production facility at Milford Haven, which would have used captured CO2 together with green hydrogen to produce ethanol for upgrading into e-SAF. Even with the Port Talbot SAF plant no longer proceeding, we considered whether that ethanol could instead be supplied to our DRAGON II project in Humberside. However, the high cost of green hydrogen in the UK makes this route economically unviable. LanzaTech has been in correspondence with relevant Government departments but regrettably there have been no policy developments sufficient to address the hydrogen cost challenge. We have therefore currently ceased developing all UK ethanol production facilities that would utilise CO2 with green hydrogen. 

LanzaTech would like to thank local stakeholders for the support given to the Port Talbot and Milford Haven projects and to recognise the positive engagement we have received throughout this process. We appreciate that not moving forward with the DRAGON I project will be a disappointment in Port Talbot and Wales. It is a conclusion reached only after sustained technical, commercial and policy work to make the project viable. The learnings from DRAGON I have been applied to DRAGON II, which is now moving forward at pace in Humberside and where we hope to secure a Financial Investment Decision in 2027.

Jim Woodger
Managing Director, Lanzatech UK