We’re developing South Yorkshire as a sustainable aviation and cleantech hub – Inside track

This post is by Oliver Coppard, South Yorkshire’s mayor.

UK government policies show an intention to lead in the deployment of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

In South Yorkshire, we’re right at the heart of that ambition, and of the opportunities it will bring. In January, the government launched its SAF mandate which specified that at least ten per cent of all jet fuel used in flights taking off from the UK from 2030 should SAF. That rises to 22 per cent by 2040.

The government announced what it called the ‘revenue certainty mechanism’ to keep ticket price changes to a minimum. There’s the Jet Zero Taskforce which is investing an additional £63 million into an Advanced Fuel Fund. And, in May, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill was introduced in parliament to reinforce the UK’s plans to decarbonise aviation in legislation.

Sustainable aviation fuel is a growth area
Taken together, those are a clear sign that SAF is a huge growth area; one that I’m determined South Yorkshire will benefit from, through jobs, opportunities, training and regeneration.

Our plans for the sector are based around a new Doncaster-Sheffield Airport, where we will locate South Yorkshire Airport City.

Plans are progressing at pace for the reopening of a commercially viable airport and we will be making a decision on it soon. City of Doncaster Council have signed a lease with the original owners, they’ve appointed an operator, and the government has put money behind our plans, with the recent announcement of an additional £30 million investment. The prime minister, the deputy prime minister and the chancellor of the exchequer have all visited South Yorkshire, and specifically Doncaster, to see for themselves the growth opportunities that will come from reopening our airport.

The good news is we are already building on success. South Yorkshire is already the anchor of a sustainable aviation cluster. The first ever transatlantic flight using 100 per cent SAF would not have been possible without Professor Mohamed Pourkashanian and the team at the University of Sheffield’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel-Innovation Centre (SAF-IC). Professor Pourkashanian’s team is giving the UK much needed testing capabilities to derisk investment and bring SAF to market.

The Energy Institute at the University of Sheffield was chosen as the UK’s first SAF Clearing House: a central hub to co-ordinate the testing and certification of new fuels. We’re also home to COMPASS – the Composites at Speed and Scale facility – at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). Backed by an £80 million investment including from South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, COMPASS is developing cutting edge composite manufacturing techniques that will help make the next generation of aircraft lighter, stronger and more fuel efficient. By driving down aircraft weight and slashing manufacturing emissions, COMPASS is helping to decarbonise aviation at source, and is strengthening South Yorkshire’s role in sustainable aerospace manufacturing.

I’ve brought together experts, academics and business leaders to further explore how to make sure South Yorkshire Airport City is at the vanguard of SAF development. On 29 May, we held a roundtable to bring together industry, universities, policy groups and the public sector. With the expertise on our doorstep here in South Yorkshire, there is huge potential for us to lead the way on this.

We need to make new green industries investable
The government is creating the right conditions to grow the industry, but conditions alone won’t deliver scale, confidence or competitiveness. That will require places like South Yorkshire to lead in turning national ambition into investable reality. We need to build the plants, develop the supply chains, create the skilled jobs and align research and industry around real production. Without co-ordinated, place-based leadership, the industry risks being fragmented across the country, and failing to realise the agglomeration benefits that world-leading clusters are built on. That’s why I’m so excited about our plans. Here in South Yorkshire, we’re not just supporting the SAF industry, we’re organising it. And, in doing so, we’re laying the foundations for the bigger, better economy we know our region can deliver.

And it’s not just on SAF where we’re leading the way, South Yorkshire is establishing itself as an energy superpower. And, as we move towards decarbonisation, we can go further and faster in advancing this growing sector. Last week, at the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF), we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Holtec, an innovator in the field of commercial nuclear and solar energy generation, after the company selected South Yorkshire as the preferred home of its new planned Small Modular Reactor factory; representing a major £1.5 billion investment which is set to create thousands of highly skilled jobs for South Yorkshire.

We’re building on hundreds of years of innovation and engineering heritage to create world leading facilities, skills and expertise; assets that will power the clean energy transition in the UK and beyond. We’re right at the cutting edge of the new nuclear, hydrogen and sustainable aviation sectors. And we’re proud to be home to the largest cleantech sector in the UK. South Yorkshire’s pioneering spirit, grit and determination will make us a leader in clean, green energy, in SAF and more. We’ll create hundreds of new jobs and opportunities to make sure our communities have the skills and opportunities to stay near and go far.

As we build in this area, I am inviting investors, industry, and researchers to join us in putting South Yorkshire at the forefront of the SAF industry.

A stakeholder round table on the theme of South Yorkshire at the vanguard of the sustainable aviation fuel industry was hosted on Thursday 29 May 2025 at the University of Sheffield Energy Innovation Centre.