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Residents and businesses in Port Talbot are being invited to have their say on plans for Wales’s first carbon recycling facility which could create hundreds of jobs. The ‘Project Dragon’ factory is being proposed by LanzaTech º£½ÇÊÓƵ, a subsidiary of US firm LanzaTech Global, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions in aviation.

As part of the proposals, LanzaTech has launched a ‘pre-application consultation’ for locals to comment on the planning application ahead of it being submitted to Neath Port Talbot Council. The factory, outlined for Crown Wharf in Port Talbot Docks, would produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for the industry.

LanzaTech, which has been working with Neath Port Talbot Council and Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant for a number of years, has developed technology that converts steel mill off-gases into ethanol that is then used as SAF. If approved, the commercial-scale ‘alcohol-to-jet’ factory would produce about 100m litres of SAF per year, replacing 1% of fossil fuels used in planes in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.

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The plant is expected to create over 150 full-time jobs, including 85 jobs on site alongside further employment in the supply chain. It is scheduled to become operational in 2026, subject to planning permission.

Aviation is one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonise and, to accelerate the project, LanzaTech has received £25m of support from the Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund. The fund forms part of an effort to reach the 2050 net carbon zero target and support the decarbonisation of the aviation sector.

Jim Woodger, managing director of LanzaTech º£½ÇÊÓƵ said, “The production of sustainable aviation fuel in Port Talbot moves a step closer today with the launch of our Pre-Application Consultation. Our plans contribute to a green industrial renaissance in Port Talbot providing around 150 high-quality jobs into the future.

“We have also taken care to ensure our proposal minimises impacts on the town such as by rejuvenating the wharf to ship SAF from the site to reduce traffic; installing a ground flare to minimise noise and the appearance of the site; and to minimising air pollution releases so these make a negligible contribution to local air pollution. LanzaTech will be a responsible neighbour and we are looking forward to sharing our updated proposals with the local community and hearing its views in coming weeks.�

The pre-application consultation will run until Wednesday 13th September and draft copies of the proposed application, plans, and other supporting documents can be viewed online at www.lanzadragon.wales.