Latest news with #TomWillis
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Southwest Steps Back from SAF Production, Passes SAFFiRE to Conestoga
Southwest Airlines has sold its renewable fuels subsidiary, SAFFiRE Renewables, to Conestoga Energy, a U.S. biofuels producer. The deal, whose terms were not disclosed, includes SAFFiRE's intellectual property, technology, leadership team, and plans for a Kansas pilot plant to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The move marks a shift in Southwest's sustainability approach. Less than two years after acquiring full ownership of SAFFiRE, the airline will now remain only as an investor, aiming to advance the company's technology under Conestoga's leadership. SAFFiRE's process converts corn stover—an abundant U.S. agricultural residue—into renewable ethanol with a carbon intensity below -100, based on technology developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This ethanol can then be refined into SAF. The pilot plant will be integrated into Conestoga's ethanol facility in Liberal, Kansas, and is slated to start operations in 2026. Conestoga, which already produces over 200 million gallons of ethanol annually from facilities in Kansas and Texas, sees the acquisition as a chance to help bridge the SAF supply gap while creating new opportunities for U.S. agriculture. Southwest remains committed to its goal of replacing 10% of its jet fuel use with SAF by 2030 and is pursuing multiple supply partnerships to achieve this target. SAF is viewed as a crucial tool for decarbonizing aviation, but current production remains small and costly compared to conventional fuel, limiting widespread adoption. According to Conestoga CEO Tom Willis, SAF represents a multi-billion-dollar opportunity, and the addition of SAFFiRE's technology puts the company at the forefront of market expansion. The acquisition also ensures the continuation of the Kansas pilot project, which is essential for scaling production to commercial levels. The aviation industry faces mounting pressure to cut carbon emissions, and SAF is considered one of the few near-term solutions. Yet without significant cost reductions and increased supply, achieving meaningful adoption will be challenging. Conestoga's bet on SAFFiRE reflects a broader industry push to accelerate SAF production capacity while leveraging advanced biofuel technologies. Read this article on
BBC News
5 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Pollock & Tom Willis get first elite England deals
Back rows Henry Pollock and Tom Willis are among the players handed an enhanced England contract for the first time in a set of 25 deals for the 2025-26 has made just one appearance off the bench for England, when he scored two tries in a 32-minute cameo during the 68-14 win over Wales in the 20-year-old's excellent late-season form for Northampton earned him selection for the British and Irish Lions' tour of Australia this eight Willis, 26, was part of England's impressive series win over Argentina, having returned to the Test scene during this year's Six Nations following a year and a half out of is no deal for Owen Farrell, who will make his return to Saracens this season, having been ineligible for England selection while playing for French side Racing 92 last year. Specialist fly-halves Fin Smith, George Ford and Marcus Smith are all included, while head coach Steve Borthwick shows faith in Bath centre Ollie Lawrence, who will miss the start of the new season at least as he recovers from an Achilles tendon Slade is the second centre included, with no space for Seb Atkinson or Fraser Baxter, also part of the two wins over the Pumas, is among the loose-head prop options alongside Test Lion Ellis Genge, while Ben Curry joins brother and fellow back row Tom on the hooker Theo Dan loses his central contract however, as Luke Cowan-Dickie, who missed out last time, is preferred alongside Jamie no tight-head props were named in the 2024-25 group, Will Stuart and Joe Heyes are both included, while versatile back Elliot Daly and wing Tom Roebuck's form is also Alex Mitchell remains the only scrum-half in the group, with Ben Spencer and Harry Randall left Arundell, who has signed for Bath from Racing, is also overlooked, as are Chandler Cunningham-South, Sam Underhill, Freddie Steward and Asher contracts, introduced last year, give England final say over the players' medical care and conditioning, and replace match fees with a fixed annual salary, which was about £160,000 last men's enhanced Elite Player Squad contracts:Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ollie Chessum (Leicester), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale), Ben Curry (Sale), Tom Curry (Sale), Elliot Daly (Saracens), Ben Earl (Saracens), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter), George Ford (Sale), Tommy Freeman (Northampton), George Furbank (Northampton), Ellis Genge (Bristol), Jamie George (Saracens), Joe Heyes (Leicester), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Ollie Lawrence (Bath), George Martin (Leicester), Alex Mitchell (Northampton), Henry Pollock (Northampton), Tom Roebuck (Sale), Henry Slade (Exeter), Fin Smith (Northampton), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Will Stuart (Bath), Tom Willis (Saracens).
Daily Mirror
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Inside Rugby star's journey from leaving girlfriend behind to England heights
Tom Willis joined Saracens in 2023 and has got back onto the path that had him tipped for the top, having been forced to scramble for a new job after Wasps went under - and a move that saw him briefly leave his girlfriend behind It has been three years since Tom Willis had his rugby career and life turned upside down, but the England No.8 is back on track and ready to thrive from that adversity. Willis was just 22 when his boyhood club Wasps entered administration, finding himself out of a job and scrambling around. He moved across to France, joining Union Bordeaux-Bègles, making an immediate impact with the French side, who this year claimed the Champions Cup crown. Even so, behind the scenes the early months were not easy, while dreams of an international career were also contingent on him returning to England. He did that by joining Saracens in 2023 and in his second season back, seems to have got back onto the path that had him tipped for the top. Willis said: 'I fully expected to be at Wasps for the rest of my career. That is what I wanted to do. It's a weird one to get your head around. It was crazy after that, Wasps went bust, three weeks later I was moving to France by myself. My girlfriend couldn't get out of work for another two or three months, so she joined me at Christmas. 'The first three months in France on my own were pretty tough. Dealing with the Wasps stuff mentally, dealing with a new language, Bordeaux are an unbelievable club, and it was a great place to be, by the end I felt so settled. 'But I wanted to come back to England, I wanted to have a crack at playing for England and a great club like Saracens. I feel like I've achieved bits of that, which is great. I got a bit of a run in the England team in the Six Nations, which is unbelievable. 'It's been a crazy few years, but I feel like I've grown from it. You are very settled at a club, you come through the academy, you are there and potentially for the rest of your career. But experiencing different things mean you have no choice but to adapt and grow.' Willis has certainly grown, and now 26, is playing some of the best rugby of his career and will be hoping to feature for an England XV against a France XV at the Allianz Stadium later this month. Even though Saracens missed out on the top four, paying for some inconsistency after a strong start to the season, Willis played well enough to be one of five players nominated for the league's player of the season gong. He is now part of the England squad preparing for a tour of Argentina and the USA this summer, with the two Tests against the Pumas giving Willis the chance to go up against a couple of club colleagues. Juan Martin Gonzalez and Lucio Cinti are both in Felipe Contepomi's Argentina squad, with the former regularly packing down alongside Willis in the Sarries back row. The prospect of them facing off is a tantalising one, and not just for the fans watching. Willis said: 'He's an unbelievable player but he's also one of the nicest blokes you will ever meet. Anything he puts his hand to, he's unbelievable. He rips us up in forwards football before training as well. 'He's just fantastic and on the pitch, he does some stuff that I've never seen before. He pulls some unbelievable stuff off that I wouldn't dream of trying. It will be good to go up against him. There will be a few smiles, a tough contest with the two of us. 'Juan and Lucio have good English. They haven't given too much chat. We had a bit of a laugh before they left saying that we wouldn't speak to each other until the games. I'm excited to see him out there.' Three years on from Willis having his career plans dramatically derailed, he is on course once again to fulfil his unquestioned potential. Make sure to cheer on the England Men's XV against a France XV on Saturday 21 June at Allianz Stadium so together, we raise the roof. Tickets from £25, please visit
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
England bolters, Steward's potential switch & a 'Carewell'
England will announce a training squad for their tour of Argentina and the United States later this those picked for the British and Irish Lions and players from Bath and Northampton, who are preparing for European finals, to be left out, there are some intriguing options pushing full-back Joe Carpenter put in another classy display at the back in the win over Bristol and has been integral to Sale's late-season Raffi Quirke came off the bench to score a sharp try, after Harry Randall had done similar for Bristol in the first half. Fellow nine Jack van Poortvliet impressed again for Leicester, delivering zippy service and setting up Joe Woodward's try with a well-weighted cross-field Adam Radwan now has nine tries in nine games since joining Tigers mid-season from Newcastle and will be difficult to Atkinson purred in Gloucester's midfield, deftly setting up Chris Harris and teenage wing Jack Cotgreave for tries and racing away for one of his own, as they beat number eight Tom Willis took out some of his frustration at being overlooked for the Lions with a big hit on Henry Pollock in Saracens' loss to back row Ethan Roots, whose last appearance for England was back in March 2024, also put in a timely performance, menacing the breakdown and rattling ribs in the loose against Harlequins. Will Evans, who leads the league's turnover charts with team-mate Jack Kenningham, was also in typically light-fingered form, pilfering ball on the last time England toured Argentina in a Lions year, a teenage Tom Curry made his debut. Only injury has shifted him from England's back row ever since. Opportunity knocks. Dunn's dummy raises more questions Tom Dunn had a landmark to celebrate on Saturday. On the occasion of becoming Bath's all-time leading appearance-maker in Premiership history, he plucked a party piece out of his pocket - selling Leicester full-back Freddie Steward an outrageous dummy before sauntering in for the league leaders' fourth has been stepped by far more agile attackers. Jamison Gibson-Park, Grant Williams and Cheslin Kolbe all evaded him with unsettling ease on Test duty this season. Steward revealed on Stick to Rugby earlier this month, external that one-on-one defence was an area England coach Steve Borthwick had told him to improve also suggested that he would be open to trying a switch to inside centre, where England have relatively fewer options, he is less exposed to pace and his powerful, rangy running and brave front-on tackling could add Roberts and Jordie Barrett both made similar moves out of the back three into midfield in their England's sometime centre option, back rower Ben Earl, on tour with the British and Irish Lions this summer, could Steward's move to 12 be an experiment for England's tour of Argentina? Speedy Gonzalez set to test England Perhaps the most in-form man of all will turn out for the Pumas flanker Juan Martin Gonzalez has scored eight tries in his last six games as the ground has firmed up and his fast, lung-burning game has come into its 24-year-old had to come off just before half-time at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday with a knock, but his team's loss means he is likely to have more time to slipping to sixth place with their last-gasp, possibly-forward-pass defeat by Northampton means they need to beat a Bath team, who may well rest their front-line stars, and hope for slip-ups from two of the teams above them in the final round if they are to extend their campaign into the Sarries fail to make it, this will be the first time in 16 years that they have failed to make the play-offs in a Premiership campaign unaffected by their salary-cap scandal. Seismic semi-finals shape up The play-off permutations are Bristol can do a number on a Harlequins team with nothing to play for on a Super Saturday round of simultaneous kick-offs in a fortnight's time, they will likeliest end up in fourth tableThat outcome would set up a West Country ding-dong with leaders Bath at the Rec in the take on bottom side Newcastle on the final day so should secure the other home semi-final, with third-placed Sale, who have won five of their past six in the Premiership and travel to Exeter, their most probable like Saracens, lurk, hoping to capitalise on any deviation from the form book. Care departs on his own terms A scrum, centre field, five metres out from the Exeter line, the Stoop singing his name, a minute left on the clock - it seemed set up for a final Danny Care snipe to send off his rugby career with a it doesn't work that that. Not usually. And not this still, the former England scrum-half ended the match and his career on his own term, kicking into touch to secure the team win, rather than search for a touch of personal scenes at the end were sweet. Harlequins players queued up to embrace their departing team-mate, before bearing him from the pitch on their de-mob rest for the 38-year-old morning meant he was back on the Rugby Union Weekly sofa for his first appearance as a full-time civilian.
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Late try sees Saints hit Saracens' play-off hopes
Gallagher PremiershipNorthampton (7) 28Tries: Kemeny, Haffar 2, Cons: Smith, Hutchinson 2Saracens (19) 24Tries: Willis, Gonzalez, Daly, Segun Cons: Burke 2 Tarek Haffar's last-second try saw Northampton beat Saracens 28-24 and strike a huge blow to Sarries' play-off Kemeny's early try for Saints was cancelled out by a close-range Tom Willis score and a well-worked Juan Martin Gonzalez try before Elliot Daly added a Segun got the bonus-point try early in the second period before Saints replacement Haffar got one back as the hosts spurned a number of good chances to add to their ensured a barnstorming finish as they earned a penalty-try after Andy Onyeama-Christie pulled down a maul - and Haffar went over as the clock ticked over the 80-minute mark to secure a great comeback. The loss means Saracens remain sixth in the Premiership and must beat Bath - who are already assured of first place - next Saturday and hope other results go their way if they are to make the to follow. Northampton: Ramm; Freeman, Dingwall (capt), Hutchinson, Litchfield; Smith, Mitchell; Iyogun, Langdon, Davison, Mayanavanua, Lockett, Coles, Kemeny, Wright, Haffar, Millar Mills, Prowse, Scott-Young, Weimann, Garside, SeabrookSaracens: Goode; Elliott, Daly, Tompkins, Segun; Burke, van Zyl; Mawi, George, Riccioni, Itoje (capt), Isiekwe, Gonzalez, Earl, Dan, Brantingham, Clarey, Tizard, McFarland, Onyeama-Christie, Bracken, card: Onyeama-Christie (72)Referee: Luke Pearce
