The Netherlands Breaks Ground on Europe's First Dedicated Green Jet Fuel Factory — and It Could Cut Flight Emissions by 80%
Amsterdam, Saturday, 30 May 2026.
Construction has begun on DSL-01 in Delfzijl, Europe’s first plant built solely to produce sustainable aviation fuel. By 2028, it will produce 100,000 tonnes annually, backed by KLM and €16 million in EU funding.
A Seven-Year Journey Reaches the Tarmac
On May 27, 2026, construction officially began on DSL-01 at the Delfzijl chemical park in the northern Netherlands, with a formal celebration held on May 28, 2026, jointly hosted by SkyNRG and KLM [1][2]. The milestone caps a development period of approximately seven years, during which SkyNRG navigated complex financing arrangements, technology partnerships, and regulatory frameworks to bring the project to life [4]. The plant reached its Final Investment Decision (FID) earlier in 2026, clearing the final commercial and financial hurdles before ground could be broken [4]. For a country that has until now relied on importing sustainable aviation fuel rather than producing it domestically, the groundbreaking at Delfzijl marks a structural shift in Dutch energy and aviation policy [1].
What DSL-01 Will Actually Produce — and How
Once fully operational, which is targeted for mid-2028, DSL-01 is engineered to produce 100,000 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) per year, alongside 35,000 tonnes of sustainable by-products — including biobased propane, butane, and naphtha [2][4]. The production process relies on the HEFA (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids) pathway, enabled by Topsoe’s HydroFlex technology, and uses waste streams such as used cooking oil and other waste fats as its primary feedstock [4][8]. This approach to fuel production is significant: by processing materials that would otherwise be discarded, DSL-01 avoids the land-use controversies that have dogged some earlier biofuel projects [GPT]. The total annual output of 135000 tonnes of combined SAF and sustainable by-products positions the facility as a meaningful contributor to the Netherlands’ target of 14% SAF blending by 2030 [7].
KLM’s Role: More Than a Customer
KLM’s involvement in DSL-01 goes well beyond placing a fuel order. As a co-founder of SkyNRG and the plant’s primary offtake partner, KLM’s long-term purchase guarantee has been directly instrumental in making the project financially viable [7]. Marjan Rintel, CEO of KLM, stated at the May 28 celebration: “As the first airline in the world, we are directly contributing to the financing and realisation of this factory with our long-term offtake guarantee” [7]. This structure — where an airline’s demand commitment unlocks construction financing — is a replicable model for the broader SAF industry, demonstrating that fuel buyers can function as anchor investors in green infrastructure, not merely end consumers [GPT]. KLM has emphasized that while DSL-01 is a critical step, SAF currently costs three to four times more than conventional fossil-based kerosene, and scaling production further will require coordinated government investment, including a proposed national SAF fund as recommended in the Wennink report titled ‘De route naar toekomstige welvaart’ [7].
EU Funding and the Regional Economic Case
The DSL-01 project has secured €16 million in European funding through the Just Transition Fund (JTF), administered via the SNN (Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederland) regional development authority [8]. The JTF is designed to support regions transitioning away from fossil fuel dependency toward a climate-neutral economy by 2050, and the Groningen-Emmen region — historically associated with gas extraction — is a primary beneficiary of this framework [8]. Beyond the environmental dimension, the plant is projected to create more than 100 direct jobs, reinforcing North Netherlands’ positioning as a hub for sustainable industry and energy innovation [8]. Maarten van Dijk, co-founder and CEO of SkyNRG, commented on the significance of the moment: “The milestone today in Delfzijl shows that large-scale SAF production in the Netherlands is beginning to become reality. We are proud to take this step together with KLM and our partners; thanks to their long-term commitment, this project has become possible” [7].
SkyNRG’s Broader European Ambitions
DSL-01 is not the only project advancing SkyNRG’s production ambitions. Separately, on May 27, 2026 — the same day construction began at Delfzijl — SkyKraft, an eSAF joint venture between SkyNRG and Swedish power company Skellefteå Kraft, was awarded €21 million from the Swedish Energy Agency’s Industriklivet initiative [4]. That funding will support feasibility studies and engineering work at the Port of Skellefteå, ahead of a planned Final Investment Decision in 2027, with the eventual goal of producing up to 130,000 tonnes of eSAF annually once operational [4]. Van Dijk described the Swedish award as “a strong signal that SkyKraft represents the kind of project Europe needs to scale SAF production,” adding that “eSAF is a complex and capital-intensive industry, but the long-term demand fundamentals are very strong” [4]. Together, DSL-01 and SkyKraft illustrate a clear dual-track strategy: near-term HEFA production in the Netherlands, and next-generation electrofuel capacity being developed in Scandinavia, each addressing different phases of the SAF technology maturity curve [4][8].
Why This Moment Matters for Aviation’s Climate Trajectory
The construction start at Delfzijl arrives at a pivotal moment for the global aviation sector, which is under mounting pressure to decarbonize. SAF is consistently identified by industry bodies and policymakers as the most viable near-term pathway for reducing aviation’s carbon footprint at scale, given that battery-electric and hydrogen propulsion remain decades away from wide-body commercial deployment [GPT]. The Biomass Magazine report on the DSL-01 groundbreaking notes that the event drew attention from across the sustainable fuels industry, with the Sustainable Fuels Summit — covering SAF, renewable diesel, and biodiesel — scheduled to take place June 2–4, 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri, reflecting the accelerating global momentum around alternative aviation fuels [1]. For the Netherlands specifically, DSL-01 shifts the country’s role in the SAF value chain from importer to producer, a transition with significant implications for energy sovereignty, industrial policy, and the long-term competitiveness of Amsterdam Schiphol as a major European hub [1][7]. Caroline Asserup, Director General of the Swedish Energy Agency — speaking in the context of the SkyKraft award — captured the broader geopolitical logic succinctly: “The geopolitical situation and what is currently happening in the global fuel markets shows how important it is to get away from dependence on fossil imports” [4].