SNP demands 'concrete plan' from UK Prime Minister Burnham on Grangemouth sustainable aviation fuel

The Scottish National Party has called on UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham to produce a 'concrete plan' for Grangemouth after he suggested in the House of Commons that the former refinery site 'could be the home of sustainable aviation fuel'. Burnham was responding to SNP MP Seamus Logan, who accused the Labour Government of a 'betrayal' over Grangemouth, and said he intended to visit Scotland soon and 'look at Grangemouth too'.

In a joint letter to Burnham, SNP MPs Seamus Logan and Graham Leadbitter, and MSPs Martyn Day, Gary Bouse and Keith Brown, said the site needed a concrete plan and funding from the UK Government. They noted that former Prime Minister Keir Starmer had pledged £200 million from the National Wealth Fund for Grangemouth, but a Freedom of Information request found no funding had been committed or spent on projects there.

The Grangemouth refinery was closed in April last year by Petroineos, a joint venture between INEOS and PetroChina, with the loss of around 400 jobs, and converted into an import terminal for finished fuels. A feasibility study, Project Willow, found that with between £740 million and £900 million of investment the site could begin producing sustainable aviation fuel by 2032, against a UK Government target of 22% sustainable jet fuel by 2040.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said the National Wealth Fund stands ready to invest £200 million alongside £14.5 million grant funding from last year's Budget, which has already begun to be delivered, adding that the government was taking action to secure the long-term future of the Grangemouth industrial cluster. Labour MP Brian Leishman said Burnham had told him he was excited by the potential of SAF production at Grangemouth and had been meeting government officials and SAF industry experts to develop an industrial vision for the site.