Hydrogen Utopia International (LSE:HUI) said its UK subsidiary, HUI Advanced Fuels, has applied to the Department for Transport's Low Carbon Fuels Fund (LCFF) for grant support.
The London-listed company converts non-recyclable waste plastic into hydrogen, clean fuels and advanced materials, with a growing focus on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and jet fuel.
The proposed facility would turn hard-to-recycle plastics into SAF using two technologies: one to gasify the waste into syngas, the other to clean, synthesise and upgrade that syngas into fuel.
HUI Advanced Fuels has lined up letters of support covering feedstock supply, fuel offtake, utilities and land, along with a technical partner to lead engineering and delivery.
A feasibility study and independent due diligence on the front-end gasification technology are complete, and a roadmap has been set through Front-End Loading toward a Final Investment Decision.
Grant funding, if awarded, would finance front-end engineering, site surveys, planning and environmental consents, and contractual negotiations ahead of that investment decision.
There is no certainty the application will succeed or that any grant will be awarded.
The facility is expected to generate jobs and skills development in the north-east of the UK.
It sits within HUI's twin-track strategy, which runs UK and MENA projects in parallel to spread regulatory and market risk across jurisdictions.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
HUI Advanced Fuels has submitted a grant application to the UK's Low Carbon Fuels Fund to help finance front-end engineering, site surveys, and planning for a proposed waste-plastic-to-SAF facility with capex of about £800 million. The project cleared an indicative eligibility check in September 2026, but the company explicitly states there is no certainty the application will succeed. The grant would fund pre-investment work only; actual construction remains contingent on a Final Investment Decision and, implicitly, securing the bulk of the £800 million capex from other sources.
The application advances HUI's SAF strategy from feasibility into the grant-funding phase, but does not materially de-risk the core challenge: raising £800 million in capex for a facility at pre-revenue stage. Grant success would reduce upfront costs for engineering and permitting, but the company remains dependent on external capital and offtake agreements to reach FID.
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