Wastefront breaks ground on UK’s first tyre-to-fuel facility

Wastefront has commenced construction on its £100 million tyre-to-fuel facility at the Port of Sunderland.

The project marks a significant step in the UK’s push for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, while delivering a major economic boost to the North East, and expected to create more than 100 local jobs.

International Airlines Group (IAG) was the first European airline group to aim for 10 per cent SAF usage by 2030 and in January this year, the company announced an investment in Wastefront.

The facility’s first commercial phase will be starting up at the end of 2026, with the second phase launching a year later.

Once fully operational, the plant will process 10 million end-of-life tyres annually – making it the largest facility of its kind in Europe – converting them into tyre-derived oil for refining into SAF and other sustainable fuels.

With around 55 million tyres reaching the end of their life per year in the UK, Wastefront says its fully circular process will address a pressing waste issue.

The Sunderland facility, the UK’s first fully circular tyre-to-fuel plant, utilises an advanced heating process without oxygen called pyrolysis technology to convert end-of-life tyres into tyre-derived oil, which will be refined into SAF.

Wastefront says its system is self-sustaining, recycling the gases generated during pyrolysis to power its operations.

By 2030, Wastefront aims to operate four large-scale plants, collectively producing 128,000-tonnes of oil annually.

Vianney Valès, CEO of Wastefront, said: “Our circular process not only prevents millions of tyres from being discarded in landfills but also provides a scalable, cost-effective pathway for SAF production.

This process will also reduce lifecycle emissions by more than 80 per cent compared to fossil fuels. The Sunderland facility is just the beginning – we aim to expand rapidly to meet the growing demand for sustainable fuels.”