Kenya Airways has signed a memorandum of understanding with Rubis Energy Kenya to build Africa’s first dedicated sustainable aviation fuel refinery. The agreement was finalised on Tuesday, May 12, in the presence of President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The refinery will process locally sourced waste cooking oil and animal fats into sustainable aviation fuel. Once complete, it is expected to produce 32,000 metric tonnes annually with an investment of 60 to 70 million euros.
The project will follow several production stages including pre-treatment of raw materials, hydrodeoxygenation to remove oxygen, isomerisation to improve fuel properties, and fractionation to separate components.
This marks Kenya Airways’ second major partnership in recent days, following its role as official airline for the Africa Forward concert held the same day at Kasarani Indoor Arena in Nairobi.
