KLM and SkyNRG start construction on first Dutch SAF plant

KLM and SkyNRG on May 28 started construction of DSL-01 in Delfzijl, a project billed as the Netherlands’ first facility fully dedicated to sustainable aviation fuel and by-products. The launch is a test of whether Europe can turn SAF policy into physical output at industrial scale, with airline backing, project finance and feedstock sourcing all aligned around a single plant.

KLM is the anchor customer and has committed to buy at least 75,000 tons of SAF a year, about 75% of DSL-01’s output and roughly 2% of the airline’s total fuel consumption. KLM said the commitment is worth nearly €3 billion and builds on its long role in the market, including co-founding SkyNRG in 2009. The airline also said SAF can cut lifecycle CO2 emissions by at least 65% versus fossil jet fuel, one reason it sees the project as one of the clearest near-term tools for aviation decarbonization.

Once fully operational in 2028, DSL-01 is expected to produce about 100,000 tonnes of SAF a year from low-quality feedstocks including used cooking oil and residual fats and greases. SkyNRG said the plant will also make 35,000 tonnes of sustainable by-products, including biobased propane, butane and naphtha. The site will use the HEFA pathway, with Topsoe’s HydroFlex technology enabling the conversion process, and an on-site hydrogen unit based on Technip Energies’ proprietary SMR technology.

SkyNRG said the project reached financial close on February 12 after a seven-year development period, and described DSL-01 as the first commercial-scale SAF facility globally to secure non-recourse project financing. The financing group includes KLM, Macquarie Group, APG and other minority shareholders, with Deutsche Bank leading the non-recourse package. SkyNRG also named KLM, NOM, Groninger Groeifonds, SHV and Royal Schiphol Group as round A lenders. ING is facility agent, Evercore served as sole equity financing advisor and Clifford Chance was legal advisor. Technip Energies won the EPCC contract that same day.

The Northern Netherlands Alliance provided a €16 million subsidy through the European Just Transition Fund, and SkyNRG said the project will create more than 100 direct jobs. The company says DSL-01’s lifecycle greenhouse-gas reduction should start at around 80% and rise to more than 90% as Dutch renewable power displaces natural gas in the plant’s operations.

The construction start comes as KLM presses for broader policy support, including a Dutch SAF fund and measures to narrow the cost gap, with the airline saying SAF still costs three to four times more than fossil jet fuel. That gap sits against the Netherlands’ 14% SAF blending target for 2030 and the European Commission’s ReFuelEU Aviation regime, which begins with a 2% SAF mandate in 2025 and rises to 70% by 2050, with a separate e-fuels submandate starting at 0.7% in 2030.