Octopus Energy Generation is planning to invest up to $6 billion in a sustainable aviation fuel facility in Nova Scotia that will convert forestry waste biomass into SAF for European markets.
The project, being developed through Canadian subsidiary Nova Sustainable Fuels, will be built on a coastal industrial site in Goldboro on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore. Construction is expected to take around three years, with the plant targeted to be operational by 2031 following a final investment decision in 2028. The facility is designed to have a 50-year operational lifespan.
The process combines gasification of wet wood biomass with green hydrogen production. Around 750,000 tonnes of green or wet wood annually will be sourced from branches, bark and other residues from Nova Scotia's forest industries. It will be broken down into hydrogen and carbon components via gasification.
Additional green hydrogen produced using renewable energy and water will then be combined with those components to synthesise methanol, which is subsequently upgraded to SAF. A co-located wind and solar farm supplying more than one gigawatt of renewable power will serve the processing plant, with a second environmental assessment for that element expected to be filed in 2027.
The facility is designed to produce 165,000 tonnes of SAF per year, which will be shipped to European customers via new marine infrastructure at the Goldboro site.
The European market is central to the project's commercial rationale. EU regulations introduced on 1 January 2025 require all aviation fuel supplied at EU airports to contain a minimum of 2% SAF, rising to 6% by 2030. Global SAF demand is projected to reach 17 million tonnes annually by 2030, according to World Economic Forum figures cited in connection with the project.
Nova Sustainable Fuels received environmental approval from the Nova Scotia government in December 2025, subject to 34 conditions covering environmental protection and human health. Further industrial and water withdrawal approvals will also be required.
The project is expected to support around 1,000 jobs during construction and up to 80 permanent positions during operation.
Source: Financial Post / Nova Scotia Herald
