Wastefront starts construction on £100m tire-to-fuel project

Sunderland, UK – Tire-to-fuel recycling firm Wastefront has officially started construction work on its Port of Sunderland facility, said the company.

Its 28 Feb announcement, Wastefront said the plant’s commercial phase would begin at the end of 2026, with the aim of processing 10 million end-of-life tires (ELTs) a year.

The company claimed it would be the UK’s “first fully circular tire-to-fuel plant”, using pyrolysis to convert tires into tire-derived oil, to be refined into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

“Our circular process …provides a scalable, cost-effective pathway for SAF production [that] will reduce lifecycle emissions by more than 80% compared to fossil fuels,” said CEO Vianney Valès.

He added that the Sunderland facility would be followed by further expansions projects, with the aim of operating four large-scale plants by 2030.

These would collectively produce 128,000 tonnes of oil annually, sufficient to yield approximately 90,000 tonnes of SAF, Valès stated.

Legislation effective from 1 Jan requires a minimum 10% of all UK-flight jet fuel to derive from sustainable feedstocks by 2030, rising to 22% by 2040.

Wastefront said it was estimated that around 55 million ELT arising are generated in the UK each year.