Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production Takes Off at LanzaJet's $300M Georgia Plant
Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) producer LanzaJet is celebrating the startup of operations and production at its Freedom Pines facility in Soperton, Georgia.
The company says this is the first commercial-scale SAF production plant utilizing ethanol as a feedstock. LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technology has been realized and commercialized through 15 years of research and development.
The Freedom Pines plant development and construction, completed late last year, required about $300 million in investment from LanzaJet and its backers. Among LanzaJet’s investors include aviation firms such as Airbus, British Airways and Southwest Airlines, as well as technology investors including Microsoft.
The Freedom Pines site is expected to produce at least 10 million gallons of ATJ aviation fuel and renewable diesel annually. SAF is designed as a drop-in fuel and to reduce the carbon footprint of jet emissions by 70%.
“This is an important milestone for LanzaJet and our investors, and it's a major win for global aviation – perhaps serving as a beacon of hope for the future,” Jimmy Samartzis, CEO of LanzaJet, said in a statement. “Our story at LanzaJet is one of impact – building a new industry, creating value, and delivering on our commitments regardless of obstacles in our way. We're now in a unique position with technology and operational know-how to shape this global industry in the decade ahead."
The technology is designed to work with a broad range of sustainable feedstocks, including agricultural residues, energy crops, municipal solid waste, and captured carbon, to deliver lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions reductions as compared to conventional jet fuel. Upon blending with Jet A-1 fuel, a fully certified solution compatible with existing aircraft and infrastructure is formed.
Freedom Pines is one of LanzaJet’s planned SAF production sites globally. The company recently contracted American firm Fluor Corp. to handle front-end engineering and design for its future SAF production hub in North Yorkshire, England.
Project Speedbird is a joint development between LanzaJet and British Airways. The project under development also involves numerous other partners including Sembcorp Utilities, Technip Energies and the government of the United Kingdom.
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EnergyTech Staff
Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.
Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.
He can be reached at [email protected].
EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.