CATAGEN, the Belfast cleantech group, has secured commercial funding to build on its ClimaHtech Green Flight subsidiary, which produces sustainable aviation fuel. The funding gives a Northern Irish technology developer more room to scale a modular production model aimed at airlines that need lower-carbon fuel faster than centralised plants can supply it.

CATAGEN is based at the Titanic Quarter in Belfast and was founded by Dr Andrew Woods, a Queen's University Belfast engineering PhD. The group employs 50 skilled staff and supports a wider network of 85 UK-based suppliers, with partners spanning ROUSH, Zenvo, Ducati, Ryanair, Shell Aviation Ireland, Vinci Airports and Loganair.

The structural driver is airline demand for sustainable aviation fuel outpacing what large, centralised plants can deliver. ClimaHtech Green Flight, a wholly owned subsidiary, instead uses small prefabricated production units that can be deployed in different locations and scaled up as demand grows, powered by renewable electricity.

Production runs on CATAGEN's patented BIOHGEN and E-FUEL GEN reactors through two pathways, BioSAF and eSAF, with plans to scale networks up to 10 million litres. Loganair has signed a 15-year offtake agreement for fuel from both pathways, and the group has also announced offtake partnerships with Ryanair and Shell Aviation Ireland.

CATAGEN is also continuing to expand CATAGEN Green Emissions Testing, which provides services that help vehicle and other manufacturers meet stringent emissions standards globally. Its Net Zero Campus in Belfast recently hosted 170 executives from the Vinci Airports network to see the decentralised fuel system.

Ken McHutcheon, supply and operations manager at Shell Aviation Ireland, said "Shell Aviation is committed to scaling sustainable aviation fuel, but the industry needs both volume and speed." Dr Woods said "the global SAF market is expected to scale dramatically as aviation works to meet its decarbonisation targets, creating an opportunity for CATAGEN to export home grown technology into a rapidly growing global market."

For the sector, CATAGEN's funding shows modular, locally deployed fuel production gaining traction as an alternative to capital-intensive centralised plants, with airline offtake agreements giving early commercial backing.

Source: gov.uk / global-efuels.com / insidermedia.com