Brigitte Danks (ARUP) on Joining Stargate

Can you introduce yourself?

I am Brigitte Danks, a Consultant in Arup’s Business & Investor Advisory team. My background is in civil engineering, and I’ve been with Arup for over five years. My role focuses on transaction and strategic advice in the energy transition sector across a range of technologies (sustainable fuels, CCUS, renewable energy, battery energy storage, sustainable district heating, etc.). I do a lot of work on sustainable fuels for use in aviation and maritime, including deep-diving on the latest EU decarbonisation legislation, as well as battery energy storage systems.

Why is Arup joining Stargate now?

Arup joined Stargate to help accelerate the transition to climate-neutral aviation through our expertise in sustainable development and advisory services. Arup’s involvement with Stargate aligns with its mission to shape a better world.

Arup brings our knowledge and market experience built from our recent experience with clients across the globe in the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) sector, including technical due diligence and strategic advice with fuel producers, investors and other key actors in this sector. From this we have built a strong understanding of implications of EU and UK regulations and of the investment landscape for various SAF pathways globally.

What is your role, and Arup’s role, within the Stargate consortium?

Arup’s role is to deliver an Investment Decision Framework for airports considering investments in the SAF value chain, focusing on direct investment opportunities in relation to eSAF (Power-to-Liquid) (given its additional challenges compared to regular SAF). This includes mapping the SAF value chain, identifying value creation points, and providing airports with tools to assess and prioritise investment opportunities. To complement other work done already by the consortium (focusing on enablement/facilitation actions by airports), we are concentrating on capital and working capital investments in the SAF value chain rather than indirect measures like policy advocacy.

My role is assistant project manager, supported by project manager Paul Hermans (Aviation Business Leader Netherlands) and project director Sally Prickett (Energy Transition Advisory Director).

What can Stargate bring to the aviation (and SAF) sector from Arup’s perspective?

From Arup’s perspective, two of the most impactful offerings of Stargate are:

• Collaboration and knowledge sharing among key stakeholders (airports, airlines, fuel producers).
• Innovation and pilot testing – dedicating time and resources to explore actions that can be taken by key stakeholders in the SAF value chain and their potential impact.

Both of these items are incredibly valuable in an industry that is required to make significant changes to their business and operations, in an emerging market that still carries many uncertainties and thus risks. This consortium creates a platform for demonstrating scalable solutions and influencing industry standards for sustainable aviation, helping the sector accelerate in their transition to more sustainable operations by reducing some of these uncertainties.

What innovative solutions is Arup driving outside of Stargate?

Beyond Stargate, Arup is advancing:

• Sustainable and resilient infrastructure design across aviation and other sectors

• Decarbonisation strategies for transport and energy systems, including completing market entry studies for existing key market players looking to decarbonise

• Digital tools and modelling for investment decision-making (including levelised cost models) and environmental impact analysis. These initiatives reflect Arup’s broader commitment to climate resilience and net-zero pathways.

Within my team in Business and Investor Advisory (including Strategy and Economics Advisory), we’re working with existing market players to conduct market entry studies into the e-fuel market; guiding investment decision making with levelised cost of SAF modelling; and conducting global feedstock availability analyses – to name a few!

How is Arup gathering information and input to set up its Stargate Business Models?

Arup is using a structured approach:

• Stakeholder engagement within the consortium, primarily with Brussels Airport Company, to understand priorities, opportunities and challenges.
• Value chain analysis for SAF, focusing on eSAF pathways, using understanding of how the jet fuel value chain has operated to date as well as market insights for the future market. This includes looking at potential returns, expected return period and scale of risk to the investor.
• Analysis of investor characteristics, looking at characteristics that make an investor well-placed to consider investment in the SAF value chain. From this analysis, Arup can help airports evaluate where potential investment opportunities are, or conversely, whether direct investment is a less appealing route for them than other enablement and facilitation actions available to airports to help accelerate SAF uptake.

What project or aspect of Stargate are you most excited about? 

I personally found the SAF Purchase & Delivery Pilot an impressive and impactful project of Stargate, particularly due to the complexity of SAF accounting and distribution of Scope 1 and 3 emission credits to the relevant parties. The insights gained from this project – including lessons learned from navigating the EU Union Database – will be invaluable not only for airports but also for airlines, large corporates, other stakeholders across the aviation value chain and regulatory bodies.