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Kent secures FEED contract for UK SAF project

Engineering and project management company, Kent, has announced that it has been awarded the FEED (Front End Engineering Design) contract for a groundbreaking initiative spearheaded by Fulcrum BioEnergy. Fulcrum’s NorthPoint project is designed to convert approximately 600,000 tonnes of pre-processed waste into 100 million litres of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

Kent FEED contract

Fulcrum BioEnergy, a US-based clean energy company, has chosen Kent for this crucial project. With a focus on developing projects to produce net-zero transport fuels from waste, Fulcrum has successfully built its first plant in the United States and is now expanding internationally, making its first commercial-scale venture in the UK.

Government grant

Kent’s involvement builds upon its prior collaboration with Fulcrum, where the company provided valuable study work in the UK. The project has received a significant boost with the allocation of a UK Government Grant under the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF).

The scope of Kent’s responsibilities encompasses engineering services, cost-estimating, identification of long lead procurement items, managing multiple licensors, and execution planning.

This comprehensive approach is designed to support tendering for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and ultimately pave the way for the project to achieve financial investment decision (FID). The physical scope includes process plant units, utilities, third-party connections, and the waste feedstock receipt facility.

FEED capacity

Usman Darr, Kent’s UK Managing Director of Engineering, commented on the achievement, stating: “We are thrilled to be entrusted with the FEED contract for this project. This win underscores the strength and depth of our FEED capability for full process plant design. It demonstrates our ability to deliver large-scale FEED contracts competitively from our Woking office. Our experience in Wasteto-Fuels further solidifies our position as a reliable partner in sustainable energy projects.”

Darr continued: “We are committed to supporting Fulcrum BioEnergy to deliver this project, which we hope will be the first of many successful collaborations with them. This project is a crucial part of the UK’s journey to net zero, specifically contributing to the decarbonisation of the transport sector.”

Paul Hubbard, Fulcrum BioEnergy Project Director, said: “Fulcrum is pleased to be working with Kent to complete the FEED engineering for our NorthPoint Waste-to-Fuels project. We look forward to working with Kent’s experienced engineering team and the successful completion of this FEED work to help ensure Fulcrum’s NorthPoint project achieves its objectives, and ultimately contributes to decarbonising aviation in line with the UK governments net zero strategies.

Image credit: Kent