In a groundbreaking development for the aviation industry, LanzaJet Inc. has opened the world’s first plant to produce ethanol-to-jet biofuel. Located in rural Georgia, the $200 million facility received funding from the US government and has investors including Suncor Energy Inc. And British Airways’ parent company IAG SA. The plant, which will produce 10 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel annually, is seen as a wake-up call for the industry to accelerate decarbonization efforts.
LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis said in an interview that the plant will use both traditional raw materials, such as corn grown in the US, as well as advanced technologies. The US government has set a target of at least 3 billion gallons of overall SAF production annually by 2030, and President Joe Biden has called for this to be achieved.
IAG CEO Luis Gallego said: “The 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.”
However, Iowa groups have warned that farmers and ethanol makers in the top US corn-producing state are at risk of missing out on the chance to significantly profit from the developing market for SAF. They stated that no Iowa ethanol plant currently has a carbon intensity score low enough to qualify as an ingredient to make SAF, while Brazil, which mainly makes ethanol from sugarcane, produces over 7 billion gallons of ethanol with a carbon score expected to qualify for SAF production. The UK government has set a target of having five sustainable aviation fuel plants in construction by 2025.
