{"id":5251,"date":"2024-01-25T18:55:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T18:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=5251"},"modified":"2024-02-29T10:37:53","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T10:37:53","slug":"lanzajet-opens-the-worlds-first-of-a-kind-ethanol-to-jet-fuel-production-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=5251","title":{"rendered":"LanzaJet opens the world\u2019s first-of-a-kind ethanol to jet fuel production facility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LanzaJet has formally opened its pioneering Freedom Pines Fuels ethanol to sustainable aviation fuels facility in Soperton, Georgia. While SAF production currently is based around feedstocks such as waste oils and fats, LanzaJet says its ethanol-based alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) technology is the world\u2019s first viable next-generation SAF technology capable of scaling production to the levels needed to decarbonise aviation. It will use feedstocks that include agricultural waste, municipal solid waste, energy crops and captured carbon from industrial processes. Under construction since 2022, production at Freedom Pines is due to start this quarter and at full capacity the facility will produce nine million gallons of SAF and \u00a0one million gallons of renewable diesel a year. Among LanzaJet\u2019s backers and customers for the fuel are All Nippon Airways and British Airways, and is a partner with BA in a SAF production facility project in the UK.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis is a historic milestone in a long history of firsts for LanzaJet, the United States and the SAF industry globally,\u201d announced LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis at the opening<\/a>. \u201cBetween feedstock versatility, efficiency and economics that enable scale in the US and globally, we stand ready to meet aviation\u2019s decarbonisation goals established at the United Nations and country ambitions, such as the US SAF Grand Challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Grand Challenge<\/a>, which was launched in 2021 by the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation and US Department of Agriculture, calls for a supply of at least three billion gallons of SAF annually by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Biden-Harris Administration is committed to harnessing the full potential of SAF as we continue to build a strong economy that is sustainable, resilient, competitive and keeps rural places thriving,\u201d said US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who attended the opening of Freedom Pines Fuels. \u201cAs we transition to SAF, this will help American companies such as LanzaJet corner the market of a valuable, emerging industry, while revitalising rural communities like Soperton with agriculture front and centre in the effort. LanzaJet\u2019s facility will help accelerate the SAF industry and provide new economic opportunities for producers for a more sustainable future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LanzaJet, whose technology was developed by LanzaTech and the Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) and claims to reduce GHG emissions by more than 70%, has secured investment both nationally and internationally. Shareholders include International Airlines Group (IAG), LanzaTech, Mitsui & Co, Shell and Suncor Energy, and has attracted investment from the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Breakthrough Energy, British Airways (BA) and All Nippon Airways (ANA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Freedom Pines facility is fully funded and has committed offtake agreements for all the fuel produced over the next 10 years. The company says it will have created more than 250 jobs and generate an estimated $70 million in annual economic activity for the local economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs we start up the plant, we will continue to refine our technology, while launching our efforts to advance new sustainable fuels projects globally,\u201d said Samartzis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LanzaJet will use the same AtJ technology on \u2018Project Speedbird\u2019, a second-generation SAF production facility being developed by Nova Pangaea Technologies<\/a> (NPT) in north-east England. Backed by British Airways and its parent IAG, construction of the new plant is expected to begin in 2025 and, through its patented REFNOVA process, NPT will convert woody and non-food derived agricultural wastes into ethanol, which will then be turned into SAF by the LanzaJet process. The facility, which is planned to be built by 2027 and at full capacity by 2028, will produce 27 million gallons of SAF per year, all of which will be purchased by BA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last November, the project was awarded<\/a> \u00a39 million ($11.2m) in funding under the UK government\u2019s Advanced Fuels Fund competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Freedom Pines project acts as the blueprint for using LanzaJet\u2019s innovative ethanol to SAF process technology here in the UK, starting with \u2018Project Speedbird\u2019, and shows how quickly the US is moving ahead,\u201d said British Airways CEO Sean Doyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG, which has committed to flying on 10% SAF by 2030: \u201cThe LanzaJet ethanol-to-jet fuel plant in the US is a demonstration of how government support and investment in green technologies can help make aviation more sustainable. At IAG, we look forward to bringing LanzaJet\u2019s technology to the UK, with Nova Pangaea, to help the UK meet its target of five SAF plants in construction by 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo (LanzaJet\/British Airways): Opening of the LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuel facility in Soperton, Georgia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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