First, UK startup Firefly has signed an agreement with Turkish engineering company Altaca to supply technology for a planned UK facility producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from sewage waste.

The Bristol-based company, which uses treated biosolids as a feedstock, said the deal provides a key component for scaling its production process.

Under the agreement, Altaca will supply its CatLiq hydrothermal liquefaction technology, which converts sewage sludge into a crude oil substitute. The process is intended to form part of Firefly’s ‘wet-to-jet’ system for producing aviation fuel.

Firefly plans to source raw material for its first project from UK water companies, positioning the facility as a potential solution to both waste management and low-carbon fuel demand.

Other partners include Chevron Lummus Global, which will provide downstream refining technology. Airline Wizz Air has also signed a £5mn, 15-year agreement to purchase up to 525,000 tonnes of fuel produced by the project.

In other news, Kingston University has joined a European Union-funded project aimed at transforming wastewater into renewable energy and fertilisers.

The project, known as CeSuds (Circular Economy approaches to Digested Sludge Utilisation), brings together research and industry partners across Europe to develop new ways of converting sewage sludge into usable resources.

The four-year project, led by the University of Limerick, will focus on hydrothermal carbonisation, a process that uses heat and pressure to turn sludge into fuel, biogas and nutrient-rich materials that can be used in fertilisers.

Researchers will also examine how to remove harmful contaminants such as pharmaceutical residues and so-called ‘forever chemicals’, which are making traditional sludge disposal methods like land spreading increasingly difficult.

Kingston University will analyse how these pollutants break down during the process and how treatment methods can be optimised.