SAF: Niutech to provide waste plastic pyrolysis conversion line to energy firm; Axens to supply Expander with FT liquid upgrading tech
China’s Niutech Technology Group Co., which specialises in industrial continuous pyrolysis technology, has announced it has signed a sales agreement with a global energy major for an industrial continuous waste plastic pyrolysis production line. The line runs on Niutech’s proprietary patented pyrolysis technology with a single-unit processing capacity of 10,000 to 50,000 tonnes/year. The agreement marks Niutech’s first entry into the customer’s equipment supply chain and the start of a long-term partnership.
As part of its sustainability commitments, the customer has steadily expanded investment in renewable energy in recent years and made Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) a strategic priority. Under the agreement, Niutech’s technology and equipment will be deployed to upgrade a large refinery owned by the customer. Once complete, the refinery will have an integrated capability from pyrolysis oil to hydrotreated SAF.
SAF is widely regarded as a key pathway for aviation decarbonisation. Under the EU’s ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, SAF blending in jet fuel is mandatory at 2% from 2025, rising to 6% by 2030 and 70% by 2050, while the UK and Singapore have enacted their own blending mandates. Used cooking oil (UCO) is currently the dominant feedstock for SAF production, but limited UCO supply has left the market in urgent need of alternatives. Through Niutech’s patented technology, waste plastics can be converted into pyrolysis oil suitable for SAF production, making the feedstock route a promising second option.
Niutech’s industrial continuous waste plastic line is highly tolerant of feedstock quality: it requires no complex washing, sorting, drying or fine shredding, and directly pyrolyses low-value waste plastics, including PP, PE, PS, ABS and nylon, single or mixed.
Niutech’s waste plastic pyrolysis solutions have been commercialized in the UK, South Korea, Denmark, Thailand, Vietnam, China and other markets, supporting multiple 10,000-tonne-scale continuous projects, including the European Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Chemical Recycling Demonstration Project, the Southeast Asian Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Chemical Recycling Demonstration Project, and China’s first large-scale continuous pyrolysis project for medical waste plastics.
Meanwhile in related news, biofuels provider Axens has announced that it has been selected by Expander Energy, a Canada-based producer of SAF and renewable diesel (RD), to provide its advanced FT Liquid Upgrading technology.
Axens’ technology will support the production of drop-in, second-generation biofuels from cellulosic feedstock through Expander’s patented Enhanced Biomass to Liquids (EBTL) and Biomass Electrolysis to Liquids (BETL) processes, produced from forestry and agricultural residues.
The technology is expected to be deployed first at Expander’s two commercial developments in Canada:
- Wheatland Bio-Synfuels Facility, near Calgary, Alberta
- Mackenzie Biomass Derived E-Fuels Facility, in northern British Columbia
Both projects are progressing through key regulatory and financing milestones, with final investment decision (FID) targeted for December 2026.
Beyond the initial project awards, Expander Energy has also selected Axens as its strategic upgrading technology provider for a broader portfolio of SAF and Arctic renewable diesel developments. The collaboration underscores both companies’ commitment to advancing commercially viable pathways for lower-carbon, drop-in fuels.
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