Merger enables multi-billion-pound ‘power to liquids’ (PTL) production of e-fuels – including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) – on Teesside
The merger of North Tees Group (NTG) and Green Lizard Technologies (GLT) brings together the infrastructure, land and advanced technology needed to enable one of the UK’s first green ‘power-to-liquids’ chemicals hubs.
As well as attracting billions of pounds of inward investment to Teesside, and creating tens of thousands of high-value jobs for generations, the hub will help solve a priority issue in the UK – the green production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with the ambition to produce a million tonnes of SAF per year from 2035.
The hub will sit on a 500-acre site on the north bank of the River Tees, uniquely positioned in the heart of the Teesside regional hydrogen hub and the proposed CO2 capture and storage pipeline.
Ian Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed Green Lizard Group, explained :
We will help reindustrialise the Tees Valley by creating and exporting e-fuel products, such as SAF which is a big priority for aviation and the UK’s economic activity,
“We have the location and infrastructure, and now, by merging with Green Lizard Technologies, we have the advanced technical capability to make a range of sustainable versions of fuels such as aviation fuel, marine fuel, gasoline and diesel from green sources such as methanol.
We have been developing the planning consents and infrastructure on our site for some years in readiness for the energy chemical revolution, and the UK’s Net Zero priorities bring that day ever closer.
Key to this is a micro-grid of clean, always-on power. We are exploring the best options for power to support our programme, including an agreement to work closely with Community Nuclear Power Ltd (CNP) to develop a plan to deploy the UK’s first privately funded small modular reactors (SMRs) on the site.
We have developed this as a single site of linked parts, rather than a piecemeal collection of local factories. This creates more value in energy issues of national priority, such as SAF.
The chemicals hub will be a centre of excellence for ‘power to liquids’, which simply means using clean and stable energy to power the manufacture of net zero carbon products such as chemicals and fuels.
As well as working with partners and tenants to maintain this excellence, the group will collaborate with university networks here and overseas to continue to develop future generation technologies.
GLT Chief Executive Officer, Professor Emeritus Martin Atkins, said :
There is much focus on the importance of carbon capture in the UK, but relatively little said about utilising that carbon once it is captured,
“Our chemicals hub will turn carbon into green and sustainable fuel products needed for business and transport, such as SAF, all while attracting investment and talent to the North Tees region.”
An important part of something with so much economic impact will be engaging with stakeholders, from local authorities to our communities. We’re also talking to potential investors and partners to develop maximum value for the site and for the region.
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Merger enables multi-billion-pound ‘power to liquids’ (PTL) production of e-fuels – including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) – on Teesside, source
