Teesside Cleantech Firm Partners on Latvian Aviation Fuel Project
A Teesside cleantech firm has partnered with the developer behind the Baltic region’s largest sustainable aviation fuel project to build an advanced ethanol manufacturing plant in Latvia. Nova Pangaea Technologies agreed to supply its proprietary biomass conversion technology to NorSAF, creating a dedicated supply chain for the planned production facility.
Nova Pangaea Technology Deployment at Latvian Plant
The upcoming NorSAF facility in Latvia will rely on locally sourced wood waste rather than imported cooking oils to manufacture sustainable aviation fuel. Nova Pangaea will deploy its REFNOVA system at the site to process raw forestry residues into ethanol. The conversion process also yields biochar, a co-product that permanently locks away carbon to render the overall production cycle carbon-negative. Nova Pangaea operates its existing demonstration plant at Wilton, near Redcar, and previously collaborated with British Airways and LanzaJet on Project Speedbird, a UK government-backed initiative exploring non-food agricultural and woody biomass feedstocks.
EU Mandates Increase Reliance on Imported Feedstocks
European aviation rules mandate a rapid escalation in green fuel usage at bloc airports, starting at 2 percent in 2025, climbing to 6 percent in 2030, and reaching 20 percent by 2035. While European refiners produce meaningful volumes locally, the sector relies heavily on imported waste fats and cooking oils. Approximately 85 percent of current European feedstocks originate overseas, with China alone providing 61 percent of that total. Janis Kisiels, founder and board member of NorSAF, stated that Europe cannot strengthen its energy security simply by reducing fossil-fuel imports while remaining dependent on foreign feedstocks.
Industry Perspectives on Domestic Bio-Resources
Janis Kisiels noted that tapping into the abundant waste resources of the Baltic region allows developers to build a secure, domestic supply chain from the ground up. Jonathan Wood, chief commercial officer at Nova Pangaea, described the collaboration as a blueprint for scaling sustainable aviation fuel across the UK and Europe while generating export revenue and green jobs. According to the International Air Transport Association, Europe holds enough waste biomass to entirely satisfy its long-term aviation fuel targets through 2050.
NorSAF Plans Production to Begin in 2031
NorSAF currently runs a liquid oil and chemical storage and transshipment terminal in Liepāja while advancing development work on the new production site. Production is scheduled to begin in 2031. Neither company has disclosed the financial investment required to build the Latvian ethanol plant or the total projected output capacity of the facility.