Velocys plc (Harwell, U.K.) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Velocys Renewables LLC, has entered into its first offtake agreement for the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to be produced at the planned Bayou Fuels biorefinery project in Mississippi, USA. with Southwest Airlines Co.
Velocys also announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the offtake of SAF from the Bayou Fuels project with International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (IAG). The MoU covers the purchase by IAG’s constituent airlines, which includes British Airways, Aer Lingus and Iberia amongst others, of an expected 73 million gallons of SAF, in aggregate, at a fixed price. After blending, this will produce the equivalent, under US regulations, of 192 million gallons of net zero SAF (blended basis) during the term of the purchase contract, which will last for ten years from 2026, which is when the Project’s biorefinery is expected to begin delivering SAF. It represents one third of the facility’s planned annual output and complements the binding offtake agreement for the remaining two thirds annual output announced with Southwest Airlines.
The agreement with Southwest covers the purchase of an expected 219 million gallons of SAF at a fixed price, over a fifteen-year term starting as early as 2026, when the biorefinery is scheduled to begin commercial delivery of fuel. After blending, this will enable approximately 575 million gallons of net zero SAF. (Net zero is determined as a fuel with a carbon intensity of zero (0) gCO2e/MJ or lower on a lifecycle basis.)
Southwest’s offtake agreement covers two thirds of the Project facility’s planned output and has the potential to generate multi-billion revenues over the life of the contract. Each gallon of SAF generated by the Project is expected to generate tradable greenhouse gas credits for which Southwest guarantees a minimum price payable to the Project (included in the fuel fixed price), de-risking a significant proportion of the revenue stream to the Project. The Project may additionally benefit from the value of greenhouse gas credits if sold above the minimum price by Southwest.
In addition, Southwest and Velocys have established a long-term strategic relationship as a part of the offtake agreement – potentially advancing future Velocys SAF-producing facilities and allowing Southwest first offer rights to purchase significant volumes of SAF from such facilities.