LanzaJet™ Alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technology will be deployed as part of three projects in the United Kingdom (UK) focused on the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that have been shortlisted for funding by the Department for Transport's Green Fuels, Green Skies competition - part of the Prime Minister's Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.
The first is in partnership with British Airways and Nova Pangaea Technologies, to develop the first SAF production facility in the UK utilizing UK woody residues. This collaboration, known as "Project Speedbird," aims to bring on stream 100+ MLPY of SAF per year by 2025 to meet the large SAF supply-demand gap in the UK and accelerate the aviation industry's drive for net-zero carbon emissions. According to the Air Transport Action Group, aviation is responsible for 12% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from all transport sources.
The technology platform is based on Nova Pangaea's REFNOVA® process of converting lignocellulosic feedstocks, such as waste wood and biomass, into sustainable biocarbon, biochemicals, biopolymers, and drop in for biofuels. LanzaJet's ATJ technology, developed by LanzaTech and US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), will convert the ethanol to Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (SPK) and Synthetic Paraffinic Diesel (SPD), and commonly referred to as SAF and renewable diesel. Leveraging the technologies from this partnership, the plant will convert wood waste to sustainable aviation fuel in the UK. Recycling carbon from local UK wood waste helps decarbonize aviation and supports the production of sustainable aviation fuels in the UK.
The second project, known as Project DRAGON, which stands for Decarbonizing and Reimagining Aviation for the Goal of Netzero, is for a separate SAF production facility in partnership with LanzaTech, which spun off LanzaJet in 2020. The facility will be in South Wales and will produce 100+ MLPY of predominantly ATJ-SPK. The plant will use ethanol feedstock produced from a variety of waste sources, and the facility will have the ability to also use ethanol produced from local steel mill waste gases via LanzaTech’s gas fermentation platform.
The SAF from this facility will be used by UK-based airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, who used the first batch of LanzaTech jet fuel from recycling industrial waste gases on a transatlantic flight from Orlando, Florida, to London Gatwick in 2018.
The third project, AtmosFUEL, is a first-of-a-kind project to create SAF from atmospheric CO2. The project will investigate the feasibility of a large-scale, commercial ATJ facility in the UK that will produce more than 100 million litres of SAF each year. It involves capturing CO2 from the atmosphere via Carbon Engineering’s technology, converting it sustainable ethanol through LanzaTech’s technology, and finally using that ethanol to produce SAF via the LanzaJet ATJ technology. The proposed facility is targeted to be operational by the end of the decade and will demonstrate how this clean infrastructure can be rolled out across the UK and elsewhere to deliver significant aviation emission reductions, while creating thousands of jobs and cascading economic benefits.
All three projects will work to accelerate the implementation of these SAF plants in the UK, in time for the mandatory SAF Blend Rates starting 2025 that are currently in discussion, including a 10% blend rate in 2030.
Jimmy Samartzis, LanzaJet CEO, said, "We’re at an inflection point is catalysing the sustainable future of the aviation sector through the development and use of sustainable aviation fuel. The support of governments, such as that of the United Kingdom, is necessary to advance the development of this new industry which is scaling to help advance the decarbonization of airlines in the UK and across the globe. These three projects will meaningfully enable the aviation industry to move closer to achieving net-zero emissions while also creating the opportunity for responsible growth of the industry. These projects create local jobs, promote the development of a waste-based feedstock industry, and enable the UK to stand out as a leader in the global community in advancing the development of leading technologies and a sustainable aviation sector.
“We look forward to the continued collaboration between industry and government to accelerate the scale-up of SAF production. We are grateful to be shortlisted for funding from the Department for Transport and proud to continue our work with the Prime Minister's Jet Zero Council".
