Sustainable fuel technology company LanzaJet has received a $50 milllion investment from the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, which according to LanzaJet will allow it to complete its Freedom Pines alcohol-to-jet production facility in Georgia. LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet technology has been in development for more than a decade through a partnership initially between LanzaTech and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Lab. Microsoft made the investment as part of its dual aspirations of being carbon neutral by 2030 and advancing a net-zero economy.
Expected to be completed this year, the facility will have a capacity to produce 10 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel a year, starting in 2023.
In September, the Biden Administration unveiled an ambitious plan to increase U.S. production of SAF to at least three billion gallons a year by 2030, and LanzaJet expects to do its part to achieve that goal. “We set a bold ambition to support the White House with a goal of 1 billion gallons of sustainable fuels by 2030,” said CEO Jimmy Samartzis. “With Microsoft’s support, this first plant significantly expands the production of sustainable fuels in the U.S., establishes Georgia as a leader in cleantech, and is the foundation for us as the first alcohol-to-jet sustainable fuels producer.”