Saudi Arabian investor Alfanar has confirmed plans for a £2bn sustainable aviation fuel plant on Teesside, cementing the region’s low-carbon ambitions.

The Lighthouse Green Fuels development at the North Tees industrial cluster will turn 1.5m tonnes of waste biomass into up to 180m litres of sustainable jet fuel a year – enough to power 25,000 short-haul or 2,500 long-haul flights.

More than 2,000 jobs will be created during construction.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen secured the pledge in Riyadh this week during meetings with senior Alfanar executives, including vice-chairman Sabah Al Multaq, as he promoted the Teesside Freeport to global investors.

Houchen said: “It is outstanding news that Alfanar has committed to delivering this project on Teesside.

“Developments such as Lighthouse Green Fuels put our region at the forefront of a growing industry which is primed for massive expansion.”

The facility will also plug into the Northern Endurance Partnership’s carbon capture and storage network being developed off Teesside’s coast, avoiding over 750,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions a year.

Backed by £40m of government funding from the Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund, the plant is one of several schemes putting Teesside on the map as the UK’s capital for low-carbon aviation fuels.