Trafigura Just Bought 6 Years of Jet Fuel Made from Dairy Waste

A Houston-based technology company just secured a deal that could reshape how aviation thinks about sustainable fuel.

Syzygy Plasmonics has signed a binding six-year offtake agreement with Trafigura, one of the world's leading commodity traders. The deal covers the entire production volume from Syzygy's first commercial facility in Uruguay, with deliveries expected to begin in 2028.

What makes this facility special? It will become the world's first electrified biogas-to-SAF plant producing RFNBO-compliant fuel, a category that meets the strictest European sustainability standards.

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Light-Driven Tech Meets Dairy Waste

The NovaSAF-1 project, located in Durazno, Uruguay, represents a new pathway for producing sustainable aviation fuel. Instead of relying on conventional feedstocks like vegetable oils or fats, Syzygy's technology converts biogas sourced from the Estancias Del Lago powdered milk plant into synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK).

The process uses Syzygy's proprietary photocatalytic reactor technology, which replaces fossil fuel combustion with renewable electricity. Uruguay's abundant renewable grid powers the entire operation.

The company completed its Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) in December 2025, setting the stage for project financing and construction.

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Why This Pathway Matters

The sustainable aviation fuel market is hungry for new production methods. Traditional SAF feedstocks like waste oils and animal fats face growing supply constraints.

Syzygy's approach sidesteps these limitations by tapping into biogas. The resulting fuel delivers 90% lower lifecycle emissions than conventional jet fuel.

The pathway has received ISCC pre-certification to produce both Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBO) and Advanced BioSAF compliant fuels. This certification positions the fuel to meet expanding SAF mandates in Europe, the UK, and other markets.

Trafigura's Strategic Play

For Trafigura, this deal extends its reach across the entire low-carbon fuels supply chain. The commodity giant already operates feedstock sourcing, blending, distribution, and into-wing supply to aviation customers globally through subsidiaries like Greenlife, Impala Terminals, and Greenergy.

The agreement also includes an option for Trafigura to purchase additional volumes from Syzygy's future projects, potentially locking in a long-term supply relationship.

From Houston to the World

Syzygy Plasmonics has built momentum through strategic investments. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries invested in Syzygy Plasmonics to advance hydrogen and CO2 utilization, while the company raised $76 million in Series C funding from Carbon Direct Capital, Aramco Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, and others.

With Uruguay as the proving ground, Syzygy aims to replicate this model globally and achieve 1 gigaton of carbon emissions reductions by 2040.

Blueprint for U.S. Expansion

The Uruguay project validates Syzygy's technology for future North American deployment. As SAF production scales up across the United States, new feedstock pathways like electrified biogas conversion could help meet ambitious federal targets.

The U.S. aims for three billion gallons of SAF annually by 2030. Companies like Twelve are already building commercial-scale facilities, but the industry needs multiple production pathways. Syzygy's modular platform could offer a scalable solution wherever biogas and renewable electricity converge.

What Comes Next

Syzygy's next milestone is fundraising to build NovaSAF-1. With binding offtake secured and engineering complete, the company has cleared major barriers that typically slow project financing.

This deal signals the SAF market is moving beyond pilot projects. Commercial-scale agreements between technology developers and global commodity traders suggest the industry is ready. For airlines scrambling to meet sustainability commitments, that's exactly the progress they need.