Plant Engineering Emerson to Automate Europe’s First Greenfield SAF Facility

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Emerson has secured a contract by Technip Energies to supply automation technologies for the first dedicated greenfield SAF production facility in Europe – the Sky NRG sustainable aviation fuel plant.

Rijswijk/Netherlands – Emerson has been awarded a contract by Technip Energies to provide automation technologies for the Sky NRG sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant – the first dedicated greenfield SAF production facility in Europe. Emerson’s Delta V integrated control and safety system (ICSS) will help ensure safe, reliable start-up and long-term operational performance, while reducing project risk for this first-of-its-kind facility.

Currently under construction in Delfzijl, the new SAF facility will support the Netherlands’ efforts to meet the EU’s sustainable aviation fuel mandate. Once fully operational in 2028, the facility is expected to produce approximately 100,000 tonnes of SAF annually. The plant will convert residual fats and greases into a sustainable ‘drop-in’ fuel that can be blended with conventional jet fuel without requiring modifications to aircraft or fuelling infrastructure. The project will also support compliance with the Refuel EU Aviation Regulation, which requires all jet fuel supplied at EU airports to contain a minimum of 2 % SAF from 2025, rising to 70 % by 2050.

“Developing Europe’s first dedicated sustainable aviation fuel facility is a major step in scaling SAF production and supporting aviation decarbonization,” said Bart Rosendaal, site director of DSL-01 at Sky NRG. “Working with experienced partners like Technip Energies and Emerson helps ensure we can deliver a safe, reliable and future-ready plant from day one.”

As a greenfield facility, the plant will be born digital, with advanced automation technologies implemented from the outset to ensure efficient, reliable and safe operations. The ICSS will include Emerson’s Delta V Distributed Control System and Delta V Safety Instrumented System, providing process control, safety shutdown, and fire and gas detection. Emerson’s AMS Device Manager plant asset management software will support efficient commissioning and ongoing maintenance by delivering device data, health insights and advanced diagnostics from intelligent field devices.

These systems will manage all process units, including the hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids process to produce SAF, an advanced feedstock pre-treatment unit and an on-site hydrogen plant based on Technip Energies’ proprietary high-efficiency steam methane reforming technology. Together, they will provide real-time visibility and stable, consistent operation of the facility, helping to improve reliability and optimize throughput.

Emerson will deliver end-to-end project services, applying modern project management strategies and digital technologies to reduce engineering complexity and optimize operations. Seamless integration of the ICSS with a broad range of modular production units will help simplify commissioning, while Delta V Electronic Marshalling with distributed Charms reduces field wiring infrastructure costs and provides the flexibility to accommodate late-stage design changes.

“Projects such as Sky NRG’s SAF facility represent the future of energy and sustainable fuels,” said Nathan Pettus, president of Emerson’s process systems and solutions business. “With complex, first-of-a-kind plants, early engineering alignment and a fully integrated automation architecture are key to delivering predictable project outcomes and consistent operational performance over the long term.”

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