LanzaJet Has Opened the World’s First Ethanol-to-SAF Production Facility in the U.S.

(Soperton, Georgia) Sustainable fuels technology company and sustainable fuels producer LanzaJet today opened LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels, the world’s first ethanol-to-sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) facility, in Soperaton, Georgia.

Photo of LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels, LanzaJet’s first-of-its-kind ethanol-to-SAF facility courtesy of LanzaJet.

“This ethanol-based technology is the world’s first viable next-generation SAF technology capable of scaling production to the levels needed to decarbonize aviation through widely available and sustainable feedstock, emerging commercial waste-based feedstock solutions, and promising economic conditions,” reads today’s press release from LanzaJet.

LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels will produce 10 million gallons of SAF and renewable diesel per year from low carbon, sustainable and certified ethanol that meets U.S. and global standards, according to LanzaJet. The SAF produced at the facility will immediately be used as drop-in-fuel for existing aircraft in the aviation industry, which contributes two to three percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions from humans, according to LanzaJet.

LanzaJet initially established its ethanol-to-SAF technology in 2010 in collaboration with the Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL). The first commercial flights using Lanzajet’s SAF technology were completed with Virgin Atlantic and All Nippon Airways (ANA) in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

LanzaJet’s press release explains that LanzaJet’s technology enables current and future supply volume to support a scaled SAF industry as well as the White House’s SAF Grand Challenge, which calls for a supply of at least 3 billion gallons of SAF annually by 2030 to tangibly reduce aviation emissions. LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels will serve as a blueprint for utilizing LanzaJet’s first-of-its-kind ethanol-to-SAF innovation to scale SAF production and combat climate change.

LanzaJet employees and a group of government officials, industry leaders and investors pictured in front of the LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels site on December 14, 2022 to celebrate a construction milestone, courtesy of LanzaJet.

“As we start-up the plant, we will continue to refine our technology, while launching our efforts to advance new sustainable fuels projects globally,” said LanzaJet Chief Executive Officer Jimmy Samartzis. “Between feedstock versatility, efficiency, and economics that enable scale in the US and globally, we stand ready to meet aviation’s decarbonization goals established at the United Nations and country ambitions, such as the U.S. SAF Grand Challenge.” 

LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels is fully funded and has committed offtake agreements for all fuel produced in the next 10 years, according to LanzaJet. Located in Treutlen County, Georgia – less than 100 miles from Savannah – the facility will create more than 250 total jobs and generate an estimated $70 million in annual economic activity for the local economy.

At today’s opening event, LanzaJet was joined by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, U.S Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk, Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols, Treutlen County Commissioner Phil Jennings, and Soperton Mayor John Koon. Also in attendance were LanzaJet shareholders International Airlines Group (IAG), LanzaTech, Mitsui & Co, Shell, and Suncor Energy and investors such as the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Breakthrough Energy, British Airways, and All Nippon Airways (ANA).

“The 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,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.  “As we transition to SAF, this will not only create new climate smart commodity markets for American producers, but it will also help American companies such as LanzaJet corner the market of a valuable, emerging industry, while revitalizing rural communities like Soperton with agriculture front and center in the effort."