NorSAF, the Latvian company developing the Baltic's largest sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project, has signed a memorandum of understanding with UK clean-tech firm Nova Pangaea Technologies to develop an advanced ethanol plant in Latvia.
The plant would use locally sourced wood waste to produce ethanol, which would then supply NorSAF's planned SAF facility in Liepāja.
Nova Pangaea's REFNOVA technology converts waste biomass, including woody and agricultural residues that are plentiful in Latvia, into ethanol and biochar. The biochar is a co-product that permanently captures carbon, which the company says makes the process carbon negative. The ethanol can then be converted to SAF through the alcohol-to-jet pathway as part of NorSAF's production plans.
The partners are positioning the project as a response to Europe's reliance on imported feedstocks. EU rules require aviation fuel suppliers to raise the SAF share at EU airports from 2 per cent in 2025 to 6 per cent in 2030 and 20 per cent by 2035.
Much of Europe's current SAF is produced domestically using HEFA technology, but that route depends heavily on imported feedstocks such as used cooking oil.
Around 85 per cent of Europe's SAF feedstocks already come from overseas, with China alone accounting for 61 per cent.
The partners argue that agricultural and forestry residues offer a regional alternative, particularly in countries like Latvia where such resources are abundant.
Janis Kisiels, founder and board member of NorSAF, said: "Europe cannot strengthen its energy security simply by reducing fossil-fuel imports. We also need to build the industrial capacity to produce the clean fuels that will replace them. Right now, Europe is dangerously dependent on overseas feedstocks like used cooking oil, leaving our aviation sector vulnerable to international supply chain shocks. By tapping into Europe's own abundant waste resources, particularly those available in the Baltic region, we can build a resilient, domestic supply chain from the ground up. Our partnership with Nova Pangaea is a crucial milestone in developing that strategic capability right here in Latvia, ensuring our future SAF production is sustainable, secure, and locally anchored."
Jonathan Wood, chief commercial officer of Nova Pangaea, said: "This strategic collaboration will ensure we have carbon-negative ethanol to feed NorSAF's SAF project, using locally sourced biomass waste. This is a blueprint for the type of partnerships we need to scale SAF production in Europe and all regions of the world, enhancing energy security, building a new domestic industry that generates jobs and economic growth while reducing fossil-fuel emissions. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), there is sufficient waste biomass available in Europe to produce enough SAF to meet Europe's ambitious SAF targets for 2050."
The Latvian project has historical roots. Nova Pangaea's technology is based on research carried out at the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry in Riga, before further development and demonstration work in the UK, where the company has worked with British Airways and LanzaJet on Project Speedbird, a UK government-supported initiative to produce SAF from non-food agricultural and woody biomass.
NorSAF currently operates a liquid oil and chemical product storage and transshipment terminal in the Liepāja Special Economic Zone. It is developing a SAF and eSAF production facility at the Port of Liepāja using KBR's PureSAF technology, originally developed by Swedish Biofuels, with production expected to begin in 2031.
The proposed Latvian ethanol project complements that plan by exploring whether part of the required raw material can come from forestry and agricultural waste in the region. Avia Solutions Group, the world's largest ACMI provider, is a partner on the project, giving NorSAF access to aviation infrastructure including its subsidiary Baltic Ground Services, which has experience in SAF supply and distribution.
