RIGA, Feb 12 (LETA) - Norsaf (previously GI Terminal), a company based in the Liepaja Special Economic Zone (SEZ), plans to launch a project to produce sustainable aviation fuel and build a CO2 terminal, LETA was told at the Liepaja SEZ.

For this purpose, GI Terminal attracted a strategic investor and renamed the company to Norsaf, in which a 51 percent stake belongs to Irish company Avia Solution Group.

According to European Union (EU) requirements, from 2025 aircraft must fly on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is produced from renewable energy sources and is environmentally friendly. The EU regulation requires SAF to make up 63 percent of all aviation fuel used in 2050, and around 15 percent of aircraft to switch to hydrogen or clean electric propulsion, which is possible on short-haul flights.

Norsaf board member Janis Kisiels noted that the production and supply chains of sustainable aviation fuel are now a major challenge for the entire aviation industry. From 2030 onwards, demand will increase every five years and large volumes will need to be produced and delivered, Kiesiels said.

Norsaf plans to produce both SAF and eSAF, some of which will be of non-organic origin. The company has concluded an agreement with the US company KBR to acquire the technology. According to Kisiels, it is one of the leading US and global companies in design and engineering solutions for hydrocarbon processing and sustainable fuels. It will provide proprietary engineering solutions and equipment for a new SAF aviation fuel production facility with an expected capacity of up to 100,000 tons per year.

Kisiels said that the chosen technology will provide a full cycle - the green wind and solar electricity will be used in the electrolysis process to produce green hydrogen, which will then be used together with the CO2 collected as feedstock to produce SAF and eSAF. Kisiels indicated that the existing infrastructure for storing and supplying sustainable aviation fuel is adequate and can be safely used in modern aircraft.

In 2024, the company signed a land lease reservation agreement with the Liepaja SEZ Authority, indicating that it plans to produce SAF fuel.

In 2023, the fuel storage and transportation company Norsaf had a turnover of EUR 841,916 and a profit of EUR 1.09 million, according to Firmas.lv.

Norsaf was registered in 2010 with a share capital of EUR 7,187,645. The company is owned by the Irish company Avia Solutions Group (51 percent) and the Estonian company Tlljet (49 percent).