A feasibility study jointly conducted by Air New Zealand and US-based waste-to-fuel developer LanzaJet has concluded that up to 25% of New Zealand’s domestic aviation fuel needs could be met using sustainable aviation fuel produced locally using woody waste residue as a feedstock. The SAF would be produced through a two-stage process, initially converting the wood to ethanol using the CirculAir carbon recycling technology developed by LanzaJet and its sibling, LanzaTech, then using LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) pathway to transform the ethanol to SAF. The airline’s Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer, Kiri Hannifin, said the findings were “very positive for a country that is heavily reliant on long-haul aviation and trade and currently imports 100% of its jet fuel.” The NZ study result closely followed the announcement of a carbon-to-SAF partnership between LanzaTech and emerging Australian SAF producer Wagner Sustainable Fuels, and another in Japan between LanzaTech and the SEKISUI Chemical Company to convert municipal and industrial waste to ethanol then SAF.

The New Zealand study was co-funded by the airline and its majority shareholder, the New Zealand government, supported by Scion, a Crown research institute focused on forestry and wood products; fuel and infrastructure company Z Energy; and Wood Beca, a project engineering business specialising in oil, gas and wood, to explore opportunities for local production of non-fossil fuels for aviation.

Announcement of the report’s preliminary conclusions followed a contentious decision by the airline to scrap its 2030 carbon emissions reduction targets and withdraw from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), citing challenges to the availability of new, lower-emission aircraft types and alternative fuels, and support from governments and regulators for decarbonisation initiatives.

“Alternative jet fuel such as SAF is currently the only real tool available to address carbon emissions from long-haul aviation, so it’s crucial for connecting New Zealanders, tourists and exporters with the rest of the world,” said Hannifin.

“There is already significant international momentum and, in our view, New Zealand shouldn’t get left too far behind, or we risk seeing the flow of capital go elsewhere, or our valuable raw materials being swooped up by other markets for their own SAF.

“The right settings and regulatory environment will be important as New Zealand considers homegrown SAF because it’s the only way to secure the necessary global investment.”

LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis welcomed initial results from the feasibility study and said a second phase was now underway to investigate the potential for household and commercial waste to also be used as fuel feedstock.

“Building a new industry requires developing a broad ecosystem for SAF in New Zealand, anchored in technology and supported by policy, capital and demand to help attract funding and make it at a price airlines can afford,” said Samartzis.

CirculAir, the SAF production approach assessed in the study, combines the technologies of LanzaTech and LanzaJet to convert waste carbon into SAF.

“The process starts with LanzaTech’s carbon recycling technology which, in this case, converts gasified forestry residues into ethanol. LanzaJet then converts that into SAF using its proprietary and industry-leading alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) technology,” explained Samartzis.

“Turning woody biomass into SAF is technically possible in New Zealand and with the right settings, is an industry that can get started fairly quickly. We look forward to completing additional analysis into what other feedstocks, such as municipal household and commercial waste, could be used to make domestic SAF production an even more attractive option.”  

Soon before the conclusions were announced from the first phase of the New Zealand study, LanzaTech and LanzaJet signed an agreement to test their CirculAir carbon-to-SAF technology at ‘The Project,’ the Brisbane SAF refinery of Wagner Sustainable Fuels.

The first stage of this process uses LanzaTech’s carbon recycling technology to convert industrial emissions or municipal solid waste into ethanol, which is then transformed into drop-in SAF using LanzaJet’s AtJ technology.

The CirculAir platform is designed to unlock carbon from a multitude of waste-based resources, providing flexibility for feedstock conversion.

“The combination of LanzaJet’s leading SAF solution with the front end of LanzaTech’s proven and commercialised carbon recycling technology makes it possible to create a domestic SAF supply in Australia using local renewable waste sources, further supporting the country’s energy security while also working to protect its natural environment,” said LanzaJet’s Samartzis.

Matt Doyle, CEO of Wagner Sustainable Fuels, said the CirculAir partnership with LanzaTech and LanzaJet would advance his company’s Brisbane refinery and accelerate the development of a SAF industry in Australia, where multiple projects are now being scoped or progressing towards final investment decision.

“Together, these proven technologies can help us realise Australia’s first, fully integrated SAF production facility and provide a path to producing domestic fuel at scale,” he said.

The Wagner Project has also secured backing from both Boeing and the Queensland state government.

Earlier this year, LanzaJet also signed a licensing agreement with Jet Zero Australia, which is developing an AtJ SAF plant in Townsville, North Queensland, and will use agricultural biomass including sugar cane waste as a feedstock for the fuel.

Jet Zero, whose investors include Qantas, Airbus and Japanese petroleum group Idemitsu Kosan, plans to produce up to 102 million litres of SAF and 10 million litres of renewable diesel per year. It is targeting production from 2027. 

LanzaTech has also partnered with Japan’s SEKISUI Chemical Company to jointly develop a platform which transforms syngas from municipal and industrial solid waste into ethanol, and then into products including sustainable aviation fuel.

Under a master licence agreement, SEKISUI plans to build multiple facilities across Japan, with the first expected to produce 10 to 12 kilotons of ethanol annually for use not only in SAF but also chemicals and materials including packaging and apparel. The deal extends a decade-long partnership between the two companies to divert garbage away from landfill or incineration for recycling as product feedstock.

Japan is active in recycling and decarbonisation and is one of the leading climate action markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Among its initiatives, it has mandated that by 2030 SAF will make up 10% of all fuel used by its domestic airlines and departing international carriers.

The expanded partnership between LanzaTech and SEKISUI follows the successful operation of a pilot plant established in 2017 in Yorii-machi, Saitama, and the completion in 2022 of a demonstration plant in Kuji City, Iwate, with annual capacity to convert approximately 400 tons of municipal solid waste to ethanol for further processing.

Each year, said the companies in their announcement, Japan generates some 56 million tons of combustible waste, which ordinarily would be sent to landfill facilities, “emitting methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide,” or incinerated for power generation, emitting embedded carbon into the atmosphere.

Using the LanzaTech technology, unsorted combustible waste is gasified, then converted into ethanol through the use of a microbial catalyst and gas fermentation technology which requires no chemical catalysts, heat or pressure.

“We are pleased to expand our collaboration with longstanding partner LanzaTech, whose waste-to-ethanol technology is converting municipal solid waste into a valuable resource and providing an innovative solution to ending our reliance on fresh fossil fuels,” said Futoshi Kamiwaki, SEKISUI Representative Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer.

LanzaTech CEO Dr Jennifer Holmgren said the extended agreement also progressed her company’s vision for a circular carbon economy.

“We are grateful to SEKISUI for their commitment to scaling carbon recycling across Japan,” said Holmgren, “and for being at the forefront of developing a global blueprint for other countries and businesses to follow on how to access and utilise the carbon locked in local garbage.

“Our continued collaboration with SEKISUI is setting the groundwork for providing municipalities with a platform that reduces waste, captures carbon, generates valuable feedstocks and, importantly, creates jobs.

Photo: Air New Zealand

Tony Harrington

Correspondent

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Air New Zealand and the New Zealand government have shortlisted two US-based renewable fuel providers, Fulcrum BioEnergy and LanzaJet, the latter in combination with LanzaTech, to conduct feasibility studies for the local production of sustainable aviation fuel, using solid waste as a feedstock. Following proposals last year from multiple international SAF producers, the airline and the government will jointly invest over NZ$2.2 million (US$1.35m) to evaluate the technical, economic, supply chain and environmental feasibility of production pathways offered by the two providers. LanzaTech transforms waste raw materials into low-carbon ethanol, which LanzaJet then converts into SAF through its alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) process, while Fulcrum converts landfill waste to low-carbon fuel through a combination of gasification and Fischer-Tropsch conversion technologies.

The selection of the two SAF producers was announced during the launch of New Zealand’s draft Tourism Environment Action Plan, designed to help reduce the emissions of country’s tourism sector, and adapt it to the challenges of climate change.

“Air New Zealand has a significant role to play in transitioning our economy to a lower-carbon future,” said the airline’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Kiri Hannifin. “Flying with SAF is a key part of this transition.”

Because New Zealand is geographically remote and heavily reliant on long-haul aviation, plentiful access to affordable SAF is considered critical. But because the fuel is in short supply globally and currently can only be sourced offshore, support is strong in New Zealand for local SAF production.

“Our climate is worsening at a rate far faster than predicted,” said Hannifin. “We all need to take immediate and drastic action to protect what we love, including our land, and all that depends on her. Commercially producing SAF in New Zealand would not only help to lower the country’s emissions while creating jobs, regional economic development and Maori and Iwi [indigenous] investment opportunities, but also provide energy security and energy independence, which is something New Zealand doesn’t have.”  

Air New Zealand is targeting net zero emissions by 2050 through initiatives including SAF use and the introduction of electric or hydrogen-powered regional aircraft, with at least one of the new propulsion technologies targeted for entry into commercial service as early as 2026. The airline has also committed that SAF will comprise 10% of its total jet fuel consumption by 2030, and last year imported its first supplies from European company Neste, which produces the fuel from waste fats, oils and greases.

The selection of the two US companies followed a year-long request for proposals from renewable fuel companies to demonstrate how they would viably establish and operate SAF plants at commercial scale in New Zealand. Evaluation of the two shortlisted companies is due to conclude early next year, with Air New Zealand committing over NZ$1.5 million (US$934,000) and the government NZ$765,000 (US$476,000) towards the dual assessments.

Jimmy Samartzis, Founding CEO of LanzaJet, said : “A sustainable fuels industry enables countries to gain energy independence with domestic production of fuels alongside infrastructure and economic development, while having a positive benefit on climate change – and that’s what we’re looking to enable in New Zealand.”

Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of Chicago-headquartered LanzaTech, which was founded in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2005, added: “We appreciate the leadership shown by Air New Zealand and the New Zealand government in enabling a future where domestic wastes and residues can be meaningfully repurposed, enabling energy security and regional growth opportunities.”

Focused mainly on forestry residues for the New Zealand project, LanzaTech will use its gas fermentation technology to transform waste into low-carbon ethanol, which will then be converted into SAF by LanzaJet, through its scaled-up AtJ process. The two will be supported by Z Energy, New Zealand’s largest retailer of fuel, to evaluate the SAF supply chain, including options for fuel feedstocks and economic impacts in regional areas.

Fulcrum BioEnergy transforms landfill waste to renewable fuels including SAF, by converting organic waste to “light, confetti-like feedstock”, which through gasification is converted to syngas, before being produced through the Fischer-Tropsch process into renewable fuel.

Late last year, at its Sierra BioFuels plant in the US, the company produced the first low-carbon fuel from converted landfill waste, which it claimed cleared the way for commercial production of up to 400 million gallons of renewable fuel per year. Among the company’s investors and customers are Cathay Pacific, United Airlines, Japan Airlines, bp and World Fuel Services, plus Japanese industrial group Marubeni Corporation.

Photo: Air New Zealand

The United Kingdom government has opened the second application round of its £165 million ($205m) Advanced Fuels Fund that provides financial support for the construction of sustainable aviation fuel plants in the country. The grant funding is to be provided to first-of-a-kind commercial and demonstration scale projects at all development stages up to the start of construction. In the first round, five projects – Alfanar Energy (Lighthouse Green Fuels), LanzaTech UK (DRAGON), Fulcrum BioEnergy (NorthPoint) and Velocys (Altalto and e-Alto) – received funding totalling £82.3 million. The government is aiming to have five plants under construction by 2025 to help meet its proposed 10% mandate for SAF use by 2030. It has also launched a second consultation on the mandate, running until June 22, which sets out how the mandate will deliver carbon savings, provide incentives to SAF producers and encourage potential SAF investors. The government has also confirmed the University of Sheffield will deliver the first UK Clearing House to support the testing and certification of new SAF.

Announcing the moves, Aviation Minister Baroness Vere said: “This renewed support for sustainable aviation fuel is another step towards making Jet Zero a reality. Developing a UK SAF industry will not only put the country at the heart of green aviation worldwide, but also boost investment, jobs and fuel security in the UK.”

The government points to research indicating that by 2035, the UK SAF sector could generate a gross value added (GVA) of up to £742 million ($924m) annually and support up to 5,200 jobs, with a potential of a further 13,600 jobs from the growing SAF market through global exports. In addition, UK manufactured fuels could deliver a £550 million ($680m) per year benefit to the nation’s balance of payments and increase fuel security.

Selected projects in the Advanced Fuels Fund competition, which is being delivered with the support of Ricardo and E4Tech, are required to demonstrate their potential to produce SAF capable of reducing emissions by more than 70% on a lifecycle basis when used in place of conventional fossil jet fuel. As part of support for a diverse range of technologies that utilise a range of sustainable feedstocks, the fund will reserve a new ‘sub-pot’ of funding for the second window to support projects that use CO2 – either point source or direct air capture – as their main carbon source in fuel production. Projects that rely on crop feedstocks or used cooking oil are excluded from the competition. Announcement of the winners and start of the funding period for the second window is expected in September this year.

The purpose of the new SAF Mandate consultation is to seek views on:

• Overarching targets to be set for 2030 and beyond;
• Targets to supply power-to-liquid fuels and a cap on HEFA pathway fuels;
• A potential buy-out price, which determines the maximum incentive for supplying SAF;
• Eligible fuels and sustainability criteria;
• Design of the scheme including who the obligation applies to and how certificates will be issued, traded and used for compliance, and how the obligation will be discharged;
• The administrator and enforcement of the scheme; and
• Interactions with other domestic and international policymakers.

The UK’s commitment to net zero by 2050 requires a rapid decarbonisation of the economy, namely a 68% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 and a 75% reduction by 2035 from 1990 levels, including international aviation and shipping emissions. Given the level of uncertainty surrounding alternative solutions to decarbonising aviation, SAF is seen as one of the key levers in the transition, along with the co-benefit it brings in reducing sulphur dioxide and particulate matter emissions, and potentially other non-CO2 impacts, including contrails.

The government says the long-term obligation provided by a SAF mandate can generate demand for SAF, provide an incentive to SAF producers (in the form of  tradeable credit) and signal to investors the vital role the technology will play in the UK. It recognises that SAF production relies on technology that is yet to be proven at scale, leading to high initial capital and operating costs and uncertainty on return on investment.

“Without a long-term regulatory and policy framework in place to support industry and provide certainty, these factors act as barriers to an investable proposition for technology developers and investors. Consequently, production capacity will continue to be limited in the UK,” it acknowledges. “A SAF blending mandate will guarantee a level of SAF demand that provides more certainty to investors, and as a result will increase production level and drive emissions reductions. Early intervention and support in this market will drive the industry to move faster than it otherwise would.”

In the absence of an obligation on SAF, supply in the UK is assumed by the Department for Transport (DfT) in its Cost Benefit Analysis accompanying the consultation to be low, given the lack of demand certainty, apart from some incentive provided by the UK ETS and CORSIA for airlines to use SAF. Uptake on a business-as-usual basis is assumed to reach 2% of jet fuel demand by 2030 and 10% by 2050.

Under the DfT’s central trajectory to 2040 (of three possible ambition options – low, central and high), the level of the mandate, as a proportion of UK aviation fuel use, begins at 2% in 2025, rising linearly to 10% in 2030. From there, it increases to 22% in 2040, on track for a 2050 ambition of 50%, in line with the ‘high ambition’ scenario from the government’s Jet Zero Strategy.

However, says the DfT, there are “substantial risks” around all of the considered options if there are insufficient feedstocks available to produce the required SAF, either domestically or via imports. “In all three trajectories, we do not expect all SAF claimed under the mandate to be produced domestically,” it says, noting that the UK currently imports 61% of its jet fuel.

The SAF mandate will place an obligation on suppliers of aviation fuel to demonstrate that a given proportion of fuel supplied is SAF, in line with the trajectories. Suppliers will receive credits for each tonne of SAF supplied, which will vary based on the GHG abatement each fuel provides relative to a baseline abatement of 70% compared to standard jet kerosene. Suppliers can meet their obligation in three ways:

• The obligation can be met entirely through the supply of SAF.
• Fuel suppliers who exceed their obligation can sell excess credits to those suppliers who do not meet their obligation.
• Suppliers can buy out of their obligation by paying a fixed sum per credit of fuel not supplied.

The buy-out price is proposed as a core part of the mandate policy, to incentivise compliance with the mandate whilst also serving as a price cap on the cost to industry and consumers where the supply of SAF is not possible or too costly. Setting the buy-out price at the correct level is critical to ensure compliance with the mandate, says the DfT. If set too low then suppliers may choose to buy out instead of supplying SAF but if too high, any supplier unable to meet their obligation through the supply of SAF will face a large cost burden that in turn would place an undue financial strain on industry and, by extension, consumers.

The buy-out price can be calculated, says the DfT, as the cost per credit of the most expensive SAF pathway less the cost to supply kerosene. “Using the most expensive fuel pathway will ensure SAF fuel suppliers will be fully incentivised to meet the obligation,” it says, and is suggesting a buy-out price of £2/litre, or £2,657 per tonne.

A separate mandate for power-to-liquid (PtL) fuels requires a separate buy-out price and as they are a more costly fuel type, a higher buy-out price is needed, with the DfT proposing a central buy-out price of £2.75/litre, or £3,525 per tonne.

The government proposes that civil penalties be imposed on an obligated supplier or account holder applying for certificates if they fail to meet certain criteria. It is seeking views and supporting analysis on whether a minimum fuel uplift requirement on flights departing a UK airport should be introduced to discourage airlines from taking on extra fuel for inbound flights to avoid having to refuel in the UK for cost reasons, a practice known as tankering.

The DfT expects airlines will pass on at least some of the SAF purchasing costs to consumers in the form of increased ticket prices. The actual ticket price impacts of the SAF mandate policy will depend in part on the options chosen relating to the trajectory, buy-out price, HEFA cap and PtL target.

“As this consultation does not set out a preferred option on these elements, we are not able to set out central estimates of the ticket price impacts at this stage but hope to do so alongside the government response to the consultation,” says the DfT. “Impact on ticket prices will be an important factor when making decisions about the SAF mandate.”

In the short term, the DfT is expecting SAF production to be heavily focused in the developed nations but in the medium to long term, nations with cheaper access to renewable energy and currently un-utilised feedstocks will be a key part of the international SAF mix and global SAF production will ramp up quickly. Around 8 million litres of SAF were produced and used globally in 2016, compared to 300 million litres in 2022 and an expected 5 billion litres (4 million tonnes) by 2025. The DfT estimates there are currently 41.6 billion litres (33 million tonnes) under offtake agreements, “giving planned plants higher levels of certainty in the future demand for their product.”

The UK’s first SAF Clearing House is due to open this summer and will be led by the Energy Institute at the University of Sheffield. It will be based across the university’s Sustainable Aviation Fuels Innovation Centre (SAF-IC) and Translational Energy Research Centre (TERC), where academics and industry will work together to develop new low and zero-carbon fuels and technologies.

Any new aviation fuel must meet strict specifications before it can be certified as safe for use in aircraft and must undergo stages of testing against a process to meet the required ASTM standard. The cost of this testing is a significant barrier to new fuels entering the market and the Clearing House will give advice to fuel producers on testing, provide assistance with testing facilities and facilitate fuel certification.

“This significant and much-needed addition to the UK’s decarbonisation landscape will help to reduce barriers to SAF delivery and will take a vital step on the journey to make SAF a viable solution for the future of aviation,” commented Professor Mohamed Pourkashanian, Head of the Energy Institute.

“With our world-class sustainable aviation fuels research and testing facilities at SAF-IC, as well as the significant amount of sustainable power-to-liquids capabilities at the neighbouring TERC, we are ideally placed to drive forward the much-needed development, testing and delivery of SAF.”

Photo: Heathrow Airport

Christopher Surgenor

Editor

• Linkedin

The UK government has revealed it expects the first-ever net zero transatlantic flight to take place as early as next year, with an aircraft to be powered solely by 100% sustainable aviation fuel. The announcement came during a visit to the US by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who during a meeting with airline executives invited the international sector to work closely with the government to deliver the demonstrator flight. The government says it is committed to drive forward the SAF industry, which had the potential to deliver significant carbon savings, improve domestic fuel security, support thousands of green jobs and put flying on a more sustainable path. It acknowledged that current jet fuel specifications do not allow flights to solely use 100% SAF but did not elaborate on how this would be overcome on the net zero flight beyond saying SAF use would need to be “complemented by additional decarbonisation measures to be fully net zero” and referenced greenhouse gas removals.

Currently one of the highest single emitters of greenhouse gases, the government said “aviation is one of our biggest challenges when it comes to making transport green, but the investment and innovations such as SAF are there to make guilt-free flying a reality.”

The new transatlantic initiative has resulted from the Jet Zero Council partnership between industry and government that aims to drive delivery of new technologies and innovative ways to cut aviation emissions, while supporting the UK economy. It is estimated a UK SAF industry could support up to 5,200 UK jobs directly, as well as a further 13,600 through global exports, with an annual turnover that could reach £2.3 billion ($2.8bn) by 2040.

“This trailblazing net zero emissions flight, a world first, will demonstrate the vital role that sustainable aviation fuel can play in decarbonising aviation in line with our ambitious net zero targets,” said Shapps. “That’s not just great news for the environment, it’s great news for passengers who will be able to visit the Big Apple without increasing damaging greenhouse gas emissions.”

The government said it was committed to accelerating the testing and approval of 100% SAF “to unlock the full decarbonisation potential of this technology.” It said delivering the transatlantic flight would help gather data needed to support ongoing and future work to test and certify SAF, “while exploring how engine efficiency improvements, flight optimisation and greenhouse gas removals can contribute to achieving net zero flights.”

Described as a “pioneering test flight”, the transatlantic initiative will be supported by up to £1 million of competition funding to help increase understanding of commercial flights using 100% SAF. It will be open to all airlines covering non-stop UK-US routes, “welcoming their collaboration with wider aviation and fuel stakeholders across the SAF supply chain.” After an initial expression of interest phase opening on May 14 and closing on June 12 2022, successful airlines will be invited to submit a full stage application, following which the funding will be made available competitively to support the testing, research and personnel costs of the initiative.

“This flight, driven through collaboration and bold ambition, is a perfect example of how innovation can and will shape our future lives,” said Indro Mukerjee, CEO of Innovate UK, which is running the competition with the Department for Transport. “It is only by working together that we will see the transformative change needed to deliver on the commitments to meet net zero.”

Aero engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has been testing its large commercial engines on 100% SAF over the last year. “We have the technology to help the UK government achieve its objectives and we look forward to working closely with them to deliver this milestone transatlantic flight,” said Warren East, CEO of Rolls-Royce. “Just over 100 years ago, Rolls-Royce powered the first-ever transatlantic flight and now we have the innovation and expertise to power the next generation of sustainable aircraft.”

As well as the fuel specifications barrier, the government said it was working with industry on other challenges preventing a higher uptake of SAF, such as high fuel production costs, technology risk at commercial scale and feedstocks availability. It confirmed it was exploring a SAF mandate, supporting the UK SAF industry with £180 million ($220m) of funding over the next three years and establishing a fuel testing clearing house in the UK. In addition to the £180 million funding, £400 million of funding is being made available through a government partnership with Breakthrough Energy Catalyst to drive private sector investment into the next generation of green technologies, through which UK SAF projects can seek additional capital.

The government is aiming to confirm a SAF mandate, as well as specific targets, timescales and scheme design following a second consultation this year. At a fifth meeting of the Jet Zero Council last month, the government launched the Zero Emission Flight Delivery Group that is made up of aviation experts from across industry and government who will work together to realise zero emission flight.

“UK airlines strongly support the development of a UK SAF industry, which will play a vital role in helping our sector deliver net zero emissions by 2050, as we are committed to doing,” commented Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of trade body Airlines UK, on the transatlantic initiative. “This announcement will provide additional momentum and, alongside the recent £180 million in Treasury support for the development of new UK SAF plants, demonstrates the commitment of government to making SAF a key part of the decarbonisation of aviation. We now need to turbocharge production in order to build the initial three SAF plants by 2025 and UK airlines have shown real commitment to making this happen with our partnerships with Phillips 66, Velocys and LanzaTech.

“We look forward to working with ministers through the Jet Zero Council to continue to explore mechanisms to attract the required private investment – in addition to a planned mandate – so we can help deliver the government’s 10% SAF uptake goal by 2030.”

Photo: Rolls-Royce

LanzaJet has secured a $50 million investment from the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund to support the construction of its first alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) sustainable aviation fuel production plant in Georgia, United States. The company says work on the Freedom Pines Fuels biorefinery is progressing as planned, despite supply chain, manufacturing and labour shortage challenges, with fabrication well underway, some modules completed and final site engineering nearing completion. The plant is expected to achieve mechanical completion this year and begin producing 10 million gallons of SAF and renewable diesel per year from sustainable ethanol, including from waste-based feedstocks, in 2023. Following a national production target announced at a White House meeting last September of 3 billion gallons a year by 2030, LanzaJet is aiming to contribute a third of the total, as well as build a global market for its fuels. Financial support from Microsoft’s $1 billion fund adds to other investments from LanzaTech, Suncor Energy, Mitsui & Co, Shell, British Airways and All Nippon Airways, with further funding coming from the US Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office.

Private sector investment and government support are crucial to enabling the scale-up of new technologies to curb carbon emissions, said LanzaJet, whose ATJ technology has been in development for more than a decade through a partnership initially between LanzaTech and the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Lab. PNNL developed a catalytic process to upgrade ethanol to ATJ synthetic paraffinic kerosene (ATJ-SPK), which LanzaTech took from the laboratory to pilot scale. Launched in June 2020, spin-off LanzaJet is now commercially deploying the technology globally and last August it announced it would be deploying its technology across three projects in the UK.

“We know that creating the change which our world desperately needs requires perseverance, innovation and like-minded partnerships. We are thrilled to bring on Microsoft and its Climate Innovation Fund to help us build our first-of-its-kind sustainable fuels plant in Georgia,” said Jimmy Samartzis, LanzaJet CEO. “The partnership with Microsoft is more than just financing – it advances our work towards net zero fuels, it enables lower-cost sustainable fuels into the market and it supports the urgency to have real, proven technologies scale-up and deploy.

“We set a bold ambition to support the White House with a goal of 1 billion gallons of sustainable fuels by 2030. With Microsoft’s support, this first plant significantly expands the production of sustainable fuels in the US, establishes Georgia as a leader in clean tech and is the foundation for us as the first alcohol-to-jet sustainable fuels producer, as well as a blueprint for the commercial plants we’re developing globally.”

The investment was made as part of Microsoft’s efforts to achieve its 2030 goal of becoming carbon negative and advancing a net zero economy. It will also allow Microsoft to access renewable diesel for its data centres. By 2050, Microsoft has pledged to remove all the carbon it has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since it was founded in 1975. As part of its 2030 carbon negative goal, Microsoft is deploying $1 billion of its capital in the Climate Innovation Fund, launched in 2020, to help accelerate the development of carbon reduction and removal technologies through equity and debt capital.

“With this investment, we support LanzaJet in creating new pathways to help companies across industries achieve net zero carbon through the use of sustainable fuels,” said the fund’s Director, Brandon Middaugh. “Decarbonising hard-to-abate industries and technologies will be essential to achieving our carbon reduction goals by 2030. We look forward to working with LanzaJet to accelerate the global development and deployment of high-quality, sustainable fuels technologies.”

Microsoft is a founding member of the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), a group of major US corporates that have come together to drive SAF market demand and investment, with a mission to accelerate the path to net zero aviation. Microsoft recently took part in a SAF ‘book and claim’ pilot with SABA, United Airlines and standards body RSB. The IT giant has also entered into an agreement with Alaska Airlines whereby the carbon emissions from employee’s business travel between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and three US West Coast destinations are covered by purchases of SAF credits.

Photo (Boeing): All Nippon Airways is an investor in LanzaJet

In her New Year address, Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, said the government will set an ambitious goal this year that by 2025 Danes must be able to “fly green” on a domestic route and by 2030 at the latest “fly completely green” domestically. The 2030 target has been interpreted that all flights within Denmark must be fossil fuel-free by the end of this decade. She also revealed “a new and ambitious” carbon tax would be put forward during 2022 to ensure climate polluting companies pay for their emissions. Domestic flights in 2019 totalled around 30,000 although the number has halved during the Covid pandemic. National carrier SAS welcomed the announcement as “very positive” and said it looked forward to a dialogue with the government on how the 2030 goal could be achieved, although the airline stressed it would require investment in the large-scale production of electrofuels.

“We must solve the biggest and most important challenge of our time: the climate crisis. Rising temperatures are destroying our planet,” said Frederiksen in her national New Year’s Day address. “2021 was a year in which we, with broad agreement, took decisive steps on the road to a green future. This year we will decide on a new and ambitious tax on CO2. It must ensure that companies that pollute the climate pay for their emissions. Many are already in the process of adjusting, for others it will take longer. The Danish principle that the widest shoulders should carry the most must also apply in the green transition – if you emit CO2 then you have to pay.

“When other countries in the world are too slow then Denmark must take the lead and raise the bar even more. This also applies to air traffic. To travel is to live and that is why we fly, but at the same time it is harmful to our climate. We need to make it green to fly.”

She conceded the goals the government intended to set would be difficult to achieve. “Are they possible? Yes, I think so,” she said. “We are already on our way. Skilled researchers and companies are working on the solutions. If we succeed then it will be a green breakthrough, not just for Denmark but for the whole world. If there is anything the past few years have taught us, it is that in dealing with major crises, we must never hesitate.”

A spokesperson for SAS confirmed that the government’s pledge that all domestic flights must be “completely green” meant fossil fuel-free and with zero CO2 emissions. The government has already set up 14 industry Climate Partnerships, with one group formed for aviation. Chaired by SAS COO Simon Pauck Hansen, the aviation group comprises airlines, airports, academia and unions. Its recommendations presented to the government last year included support for a longer-term global CO2e tax to fund the cost of the energy transition, with an interim national climate fund financed by a small contribution of around €4 from each departing passenger. The group also recommended the formation of a master plan for a Power-to-X infrastructure to produce electrofuels for aviation, along with facilities for carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

“The group set a goal of a 70% reduction in carbon emissions on domestic flights by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, which it found to be realistic given the prerequisites at the time, and we look forward to discussing with the government on how to reach the new target of 100%,” the SAS spokesperson told GreenAir. “We expect, of course, that the prerequisites will have to change.”

She said the climate partnership group itself had high ambitions for Danish aviation to be sustainable. “The fact that the Danish government has now announced they also have the same ambitions, we see as very positive,” she said. “This way we all work towards the same goal: to make flying more sustainable. Key elements for success are the future availability of electrofuels and their price, which requires investments in facilities for large-scale production.

“The government’s 2030 goal is exciting and we look forward to a dialogue on how we will jointly achieve it for Danish domestic aviation.”

She added that SAS was looking at a number of technologies under development. “It remains to be seen how and what we can use in the future,” she said.

In November, SAS announced it would take part in a joint study with Vattenfall, Shell and LanzaTech to investigate the large-scale production of synthetic SAF in Sweden using LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet technology. The goal is for a new production facility situated on Sweden’s east coast to produce up to 50,000 tonnes of synthetic SAF annually sometime between 2026 and 2027 from fossil-free electricity and recycled CO2 from district heating.

“Our joint commitment in finding ways to enable large-scale production of a more sustainable aviation fuel is a fantastic opportunity to accelerate the commercialisation of SAF, and thus SAS’s transition towards industry-leading, zero-emission flights,” commented Anko van der Werff, CEO of SAS.

The Danish government has been keen to support the use of new power sources for aviation, including green hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels. It has been critical though of the European Commission’s SAF blending mandate proposals.

“I’m concerned that the proposals are too weak and the bar needs to be set much higher,” said Denmark’s Minister of Transport, Benny Engelbrecht, at a State of Green roundtable event held at the Danish pavilion during COP26. He added passengers would have to expect to pay extra for the introduction of new green fuels but he considered the higher cost would be minimal.

Photo: Copenhagen Airports A/S

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A major partnership has been formed by SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Swedish energy company Vattenfall, Shell Aviation and LanzaTech to explore the large-scale production in Sweden of synthetic sustainable aviation fuel, using carbon dioxide recycled from district heating, reports Tony Harrington. By 2026-27, the consortium plans to commission a new SAF facility near Forsmark, on Sweden’s east coast, with capacity to produce up to 50,000 tonnes of synthetic SAF, or electrofuel, per annum. The plant would use fossil-free electricity to convert CO2 collected from Vattenfall’s heat and power plant in Uppsala, near Stockholm and, when fully operational, would be able to provide SAS with up to 25% of its global SAF requirements in the 2030s. It would be the first synthetic SAF produced through the LanzaJet Alcohol to Jet (AtJ) process, developed by Illinois-based LanzaTech and the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

To create the fuel, fossil-free electricity would be used to develop hydrogen via electrolysis. Carbon dioxide and hydrogen would then be combined and converted to ethanol, and the ethanol would be transformed into electrofuel. Under the terms of the four-party agreement, Vattenfall would investigate fossil-free electricity supply, hydrogen production and carbon dioxide recovery; Shell would investigate fuel production and logistics, and be the electrofuel buyer; and LanzaTech would deploy its gas fermentation expertise to make ethanol from the input gas streams. The parties collectively would license the LanzaJet AtJ technology to convert the ethanol to electrofuel, and SAS would be a potential buyer of the fuel for use in its global fleet.

“The aviation sector faces incredible challenges getting the volumes of SAF needed for sustainable flight,” said Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech. “This project is the start of delivering on these volumes, and by reusing carbon dioxide and fossil-free power we have an opportunity for unprecedented scale. We need to rethink carbon, and together with fossil-free power, harness it to create a new climate-safe future for all.”

Anna Mascolo, President, Shell Aviation, said sustainable aviation fuel offered the greatest potential to reduce emissions from aviation. “It is only by working together today across the aviation ecosystem to drive the technologies and infrastructure needed to produce SAF at scale that the aviation sector can achieve net zero by 2050,” she said. “I am excited for this collaboration to explore one more pathway for SAF production.”

Added Vattenfall CEO Anna Borg: “This initiative shows the potential of cross-industry partnerships to drive the decarbonisation of a hard-to-abate sector, to innovate faster in order to bridge to fossil-free living within one generation. This is a really good opportunity, and together we will explore further how to produce low emission electrofuel for aviation.”   

SAS serves 90 destinations with a fleet ranging from turboprop ATR 72-600s to next-generation Airbus A320neos, A321LRs and long range A350s. “We are incredibly proud to be part of this unique project, where ambitious sustainability goals and agendas come together,” said Anko van der Werff, the airline’s CEO. “Our joint commitment in finding ways to enable large-scale production of a more sustainable aviation fuel is a fantastic opportunity to accelerate the commercialisation of SAF, and thus SAS’s transition towards industry-leading zero emission flights.”

The Vattenfall evaluation is one of four power-to-liquids projects currently being undertaken by LanzaTech, including a feasibility study with Carbon Engineering to evaluate the direct capture of carbon dioxide from the air and convert it to sustainable aviation fuel.

The announcement of the Swedish electrofuel initiative coincides with strong industry concerns about a lack of sufficient production and distribution capacity to meet growing demand for SAF, driven by airline sustainability objectives and escalating blending mandates in Europe.

The industry’s Air Transport Action Group, in its Waypoint 2050 report, has estimated 330-445 million tonnes of SAF would be needed globally for airlines to achieve their 2050 net emissions targets, but assessed only 180 million tonnes was likely to be available for aviation use. The report also forecast that between 5,000 and 7,000 new refineries would also be needed to meet SAF demand in that period.

SkyNRG, a major global provider of SAF, has separately estimated that for Europe alone to meet its current, escalating blending mandates, 300 new SAF plants would be required by 2050, each producing 100,000 tonnes of fuel per year. But the report said just 15 new plants were proposed for construction in Europe by 2027, requiring more than 10 new facilities each year between 2027 and 2050.   

Maarten van Dijk, Managing Director of SkyNRG, said demand for SAF production facilities provided a significant opportunity for infrastructure investors. He told GreenAir that global investors wanted to support the transition to low carbon energy and were seeking opportunities. “There’s an insane amount of money out there at the moment,” he said. “There’s just a shortage of investment-grade sustainable developments. Institutional investors have trillions to invest, and they need new future-proof industries. This is one.”

Photo: SAS

Two sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) projects in the UK have been announced that involve British Airways, one to investigate a commercial facility that would produce more than 100 million litres per year of jet fuel made from atmospheric CO2 and the other to recycle carbon from UK wood waste and turn it into SAF. Partners on the projects include US company LanzaTech and its offshoot LanzaJet. Project AtmosFUEL is a collaboration of Canadian direct air capture (DAC) technology company Carbon Engineering, LanzaTech UK, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, and is targeting a proposed facility to be operational by the end of the decade. Also with a goal of producing 100 million litres of SAF a year, Project Speedbird brings together Nova Pangaea Technologies, LanzaJet and British Airways. Both projects were recently shortlisted by the UK government to receive funding from the ‘Green Fuels, Green Skies’ competition.

Project AtmosFUEL will examine how Carbon Engineering (CE) and LanzaTech technologies can be integrated to recycle atmospheric CO2 into ultra-low carbon jet fuel. CE’s DAC technology will capture CO2 from the atmosphere so it can be fed into LanzaTech’s gas fermentation process to produce low-carbon ethanol. The ethanol will then be converted into SAF using LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) technology that was developed by LanzaTech and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the United States. The fuel, which is claimed to offer more than a 90% reduction in GHG emissions compared to conventional fossil jet fuel, will undergo certification by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials.

“Using DAC to make SAF presents an opportunity for unprecedented scale, a key factor when the greatest challenge we face as an industry is getting the volumes of fuel we need into planes as soon as possible,” said LanzaTech CEO Jennifer Holmgren. “We applaud the UK government’s continued leadership role in creating opportunities for bringing recycled carbon into the supply chain to enable achieving Net Zero.”

LanzaTech says its first commercial gas fermentation plant has produced over 20 million gallons of ethanol and has been working with the UK government and several industrial partners on Project DRAGON to build the world’s first commercial-scale, waste ethanol-based AtJ production facility in South Wales (see article). The fuel will be used by UK-based airlines, including British Airways and long-time partner Virgin Atlantic. The feedstock for the facility will be procured from a variety of waste sources and the facility will have the ability to also use ethanol produced from local steel mill waste gases.

From a pilot plant in British Columbia, CE has been capturing atmospheric CO2 since 2015 and converting it into fuels since 2017. In partnership with 1PointFive, which has financial backing from United Airlines (see article), CE is engineering a large-scale, commercial DAC facility in the US that will capture one million tonnes of CO2 per year.

With UK partner Storegga, CE has begun engineering and design of a proposed facility in north-east Scotland to permanently remove between 500,000 and one million tonnes of CO2 per year. It would be the first large-scale facility of its kind in Europe and the partners are aiming for it to be operational by 2026.

“These types of first-of-a-kind facilities will position the UK as a world leader in advanced low carbon jet fuel breakthroughs and will deliver significant emission reductions and rippling economic benefits,” said CE’s VP Europe, Amy Ruddock.

Virgin Atlantic’s Chief Commercial Officer, Juha Jarvinen, commented: “The involvement of two leading UK airlines as partners in this project reflects how important it is to support such innovation and the role airlines play in developing a UK-based SAF production capability. We very much look forward to working with our partners over the coming months.”

Added British Airways CEO Sean Doyle: “We look forward to pushing forward with this project, which is one of many we’re working on as we head towards our target to decarbonise and reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

The airline is involved in four of the eight projects that have been shortlisted to receive grant funding under the Department for Transport’s ‘Green Fuels, Green Skies’ competition (see article).

“These plants would be a game-changer for our industry, not only delivering sustainable aviation fuel but also creating many hundreds of highly skilled jobs while increasing economic growth around the UK,” said Doyle.

Shortlisted Project Speedbird, involving LanzaJet, British Airways and Nova Pangaea Technologies, which is based in Redcar, northeast England, aims to develop the UK’s first SAF production facility to utilise UK-sourced wood waste. According to the Wood Recyclers Association, the amount of waste wood processed in the UK increased by 6% to 3.98 million tonnes in 2019.

The integrated technology platform is based on Nova Pangaea’s REFNOVA patented process of converting lignocellulosic feedstocks, such as waste wood and non-food biomass, into sustainable biofuels and chemicals. LanzaJet’s technology would then convert the ethanol to synthetic paraffinic kerosene and synthetic paraffinic diesel to produce SAF and renewable diesel.

“We plan to deliver the first UK-based end-to-end sustainable value chain from UK wood waste and residues to SAF,” said Sarah Ellerby of Nova Pangaea, who was appointed CEO in January 2020 following 15 years of experience as CEO of three US companies within the energy sector.

Jimmy Samartzis, CEO of project partner LanzaJet, said: “The conversion of wood waste to SAF in the UK helps decarbonise aviation and recycles carbon from local UK wood waste. At LanzaJet, we’re in a unique position with ready and scaling technology to produce lower carbon, sustainable fuels. Our partnership with British Airways and Nova Pangaea provides a novel and important integrated solution for the UK.”

Photo: Heathrow Airport

Eight proposed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) projects have been shortlisted by the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) to share up to £15 million ($20m) in grant funding to support early-stage development of large-scale SAF production plants in the UK. All selected projects have the potential to reduce emissions by more than 70% on a lifecycle basis when used in place of conventional fossil jet fuel, said the DfT. The plants plan to produce jet fuel from a variety of sources including sewage; household and commercial waste; alcohol derived from wastes; and from captured atmospheric carbon dioxide. Organisations standing to gain from the funding include Velocys, Fulcrum BioEnergy, LanzaTech, Lanzajet, Advanced Biofuel Solutions, Alfanar Energy, Green Fuels Research, Nova Pangaea and Carbon Engineering, with a few of the projects shortlisted still at their feasibility stage.

Research carried out for the DfT indicates that by 2040 the SAF sector could generate between £0.7 billion and £1.66 billion a year for the UK economy, with potentially half of this coming from the export of intellectual property and the provision of engineering services. Between 5,000 and 11,000 green jobs could also be created across the nation and SAF production could also increase UK fuel security.

The eight projects shortlisted in the Green Fuels, Green Skies (GFGS) competition are:

• Advanced Biofuel Solutions Ltd – ABSL will work with a British refinery and engineering company to produce a detailed engineering design for a new facility in Cheshire, north-west England. The plant will use gasification and Fischer-Tropsch (FT) technology to convert 130,000 tonnes of waste a year into aviation fuel.
• Alfanar Energy Ltd – The company’s Lighthouse Green Fuels (LGF) project, located in Tees Valley, north-east England, will use gasification and FT technology to convert household and commercial waste into around 180 million litres of SAF and naphtha. The project is currently completing design optimisation work ahead of starting the front-end engineering design (FEED) stage by the end of 2021.
• Fulcrum BioEnergy Ltd – The Fulcrum NorthPoint project, being developed at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex in north-west England, will convert residual waste into around 100 million litres of SAF using gasification and FT technology. Funding will support the FEED stage of project work.
• Green Fuels Research Ltd – A joint endeavour between Green Fuels, Petrofac and Cranfield University, the FIREFLY project aims to demonstrate and certify a technology route to SAF from sewage sludge. Funding will support the project’s pre-FEED development stage.
• LanzaTech UK Ltd – Funding will support the FEED stage of a proposed facility in Port Talbot, South Wales, which is expected to produce over 100 million litres of SAF per year, using ethanol from biogenic wastes and industry flue gases.
• LanzaTech UK Ltd and Carbon Engineering – Funding will support a feasibility study into producing 100 million litres of SAF per year using Carbon Engineering’s direct air capture (DAC) technology, and hydrogen from water electrolysis to convert into SAF using Lanzatech’s gas fermentation and LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet technology. Project members include British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
• Nova Pangaea Technologies (UK) Ltd – Along with British Airways and LanzaJet, the feasibility project will study the optimal design to construct a facility that produces more than 100 million litres of SAF a year using UK woody residues.
• Velcocys Projects Ltd – The funding will support progress towards FEED of the Altalto project being developed by Velocys and British Airways to build a commercial waste-to-SAF plant in Immingham, north-east England, using gasification and FT technology.

The eight projects are understood to be assured of funding with the amounts to each to be announced very shortly and subject to contract. The bulk of the funding will go to those projects in the pre-FEED or FEED phase with around £2 million expected to be awarded to those in their feasibility stage. The GFGS funding period is a fixed term from August to the end of March 2022.

Sean Doyle, CEO of British Airways, which is involved in four of the projects, commented: “We’re determined to transform the sustainability of our industry and this potential GFGS government funding is critical in helping us to show the feasibility of building SAF plants. These plants would be a game-changer for our industry, not only delivering SAF but also creating many hundreds of highly skilled jobs while increasing economic growth around the UK.”

Henrik Wareborn, CEO of Velocys, which benefited from funding under the government’s £20 million F4C competition held in 2017, said: “We welcome this new funding as it will help bring Altalto closer to the production of SAF. The GFGS initiative highlights the importance of building SAF facilities throughout the country that will help the UK not only to meet the targets set but also make a quantifiable impact on climate change.”

Added Jimmy Samartzis, CEO of US-based LanzaJet, which is partnering on one of the shortlisted projects with British Airways and Nova Pangaea, said: “Together, we are grateful to the Prime Minister and DfT for their support in advancing the production of SAF in the UK.”

The Green Fuels Research (GFR) project with Petrofac and Cranfield University will demonstrate an integrated route to SAF using sewage sludge as feedstock and encompasses engineering design and construction of a UK demonstration plant capable of generating the quantities of fuel to allow certification to international standards. This in turn, says GFR, will lead to a first-of-a-kind commercial refinery and roll-out to several locations where airports, pipeline terminals and wastewater treatment works are in close proximity. The company says around 53 million tonnes per annum of untreated sewage sludge are collected in the UK from about 8,500 wastewater treatment works.

Commenting on the competition announcement, Green Fuels CEO James Hygate said: “We’re delighted to have this opportunity to prove the environmental and commercial viability of the FIREFLY route, which integrates several existing technologies into a sustainable industrial process. Among many advantages, FIREFLY will use fully biogenic feedstock which will emit no fossil carbon, won’t contribute to deforestation or compete with food production, and will not rely on imports with long, high-emission supply chains. And perhaps most importantly, we expect to demonstrate exceptional carbon savings, meaning this is potentially a very fast route to decarbonising aviation that won’t rely on as yet unknown technologies.”

The competition has been managed by consultants Ricardo and once the funding has been distributed, it will monitor the eight projects on behalf of the DfT.

“We have been amazed by the diversity and creativity of the entries,” said Alexandra Humphris-Bach, Ricardo Principal Consultant. “All the selected projects have a clear potential to produce SAF capable of reducing emissions by more than 70% on a lifecycle basis, when used in place of a conventional fossil jet fuel.”

The UK’s Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, said: “Aviation will be central to our future growth and plans to build back greener from the pandemic, which is why we have invested over £20 million in the past year to decarbonise the sector in line with our world-leading net zero targets.

“With less than 100 days to go until COP26, we’re ramping up our efforts even further to help companies break ground on trailblazing waste to jet fuel plants and put the UK at the forefront of international SAF production.”

Photo: British Airways is involved in four of the eight shortlisted projects

US-based LanzaTech has announced plans to build and commission what it claims will be the world’s first commercial-scale alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) production facility using ethanol feedstock made from steel mill waste gases and other wastes. The proposed facility in South Wales, UK, is expected to produce around 100 million litres per year of ATJ synthetic paraffinic kerosene (ATJ-SPK), which with a 30% blend target will yield around 330 million litres of blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) annually. LanzaTech will both build and operate this first UK deployment of the LanzaJet ATJ technology and then has ambitions with spin-out company LanzaJet to develop multiple follow-on projects in the UK and globally as the SAF market develops. This will be done primarily via a licensing model in which customers build, own and operate facilities that use the LanzaJet technology. The SAF from the South Wales facility will be used by UK-based airlines, including long-term partner Virgin Atlantic, which used LanzaTech jet fuel made from recycled waste gases on a commercial flight from Orlando to London Gatwick in October 2018.

That same year, LanzaTech, Virgin Atlantic and partners received a £410,000 ($570,000) grant from the UK Department for Transport (DfT) in respect of its Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition for a feasibility study on the project, which is now into the planning and permitting stage. For now, LanzaTech is holding back on releasing a fuel production start-up date.

The facility will be developed within Phase 2 of the South Wales Industrial Cluster (SWIC), a consortium involving 17 partners led by UK technology-based construction and engineering company Costain, which is aiming to create the world’s first net-zero emissions industrial zone and is aligned with the UK government’s ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution. This phase of SWIC is supported by £20 million ($28m) grant funding from Innovate UK, with an additional £17.6 million provided by industry, and aims to reduce industrial emissions at sites throughout South Wales in support of Welsh NetZero targets.

Within SWIC, LanzaTech said that with Costain’s support it will select the final project site, perform site-specific engineering and obtain facility permits. A spokesperson for the Chicago-headquartered company confirmed it has already engaged with stakeholders across the jet fuel supply chain – including fuel distributors, tank farms, major airlines and airports – to map out options for blending its ATJ-SPK with fossil jet fuel and distributing it via an existing  infrastructure to the airports and into planes.

The LanzaJet ATJ process developed by LanzaTech and the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) can use any source of sustainable ethanol made from, but not limited to, non-edible agricultural residues, such as wheat straw, and recycled industrial emissions that are otherwise unavoidable. The batch provided for the Virgin Atlantic flight was made by recycling waste industrial gases into ethanol.

“We are evaluating sites for an integrated recycled carbon fuel to SAF plant but are also working on a standalone ATJ facility that takes any source of ethanol and converts it to SAF,” the spokesperson told GreenAir. “A lot does depend on the policy landscape in the UK as currently fuels made from recycled carbon, including industrial off gases, don’t qualify under the government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). As part of a recent DfT consultation, there is scope they will be included in the future.”

LanzaTech CEO, and Chair of the LanzaJet Board, Dr Jennifer Holmgren sits on the UK government and industry Jet Zero Council, and company representatives take part in the Council’s working groups.

“Aviation presents unique decarbonisation challenges and it will take a global approach to help this key hard-to-abate sector meet net zero targets,” said Holmgren. “It is thanks to the support and close partnership with the US DOE and its PNNL energy laboratory that we are now able to bring our unique platform to the UK, with the combined support of industry and the UK government, including Innovate UK and United Kingdom Research and Innovation. This model of government and industry collaboration is precisely what the world needs to rapidly speed the pace of technology development and deployment.”

Added LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis: “The acceleration of the SAF industry is at an inflection point where government support to develop it is critical and we’re grateful for the UK government’s actions and support, serving as a model for other countries to follow.”

Responded UK Aviation Minister Robert Courts: “Sustainable aviation fuels have enormous potential to cut carbon emissions, support the creation of thousands of jobs and help us to build back better and greener. LanzaTech’s innovative technology gets us one step closer to being able to produce SAF at scale and deliver our world-leading decarbonisation programme, all while boosting local jobs in South Wales.”

Juha Järvinen, Chief Commercial Officer for Virgin Atlantic, said the airline had been a long-standing supporter of LanzaTech and the government now had a significant opportunity to create a UK-based production capability that could lead the way in the decarbonisation of the UK airline sector.

“As US firms start to build out their overseas capability, we would urge the UK government to accelerate its support for first-of-a-kind production facilities and put in place a favourable regulatory regime and financial guarantees to do so,” he said.

In February, British Airways revealed it was to invest in LanzaJet and purchase SAF to be produced at the US producer’s Freedom Pines Fuels facility in Georgia and used on BA flights from the US. The partnership also extends to the airline supporting LanzaJet plans for a potential commercial-scale UK biorefinery (see article).

LanzaTech has also announced the appointment of Jim Woodger as Managing Director of LanzaTech UK. Woodger previously served at Corbion, TerraVia (formerly Solazyme) and UOP’s Renewable Energy & Chemicals business.

Photo: Virgin Atlantic flight using LanzaTech ATJ fuel touches down at London Gatwick in 2018