LanzaJet Starts SAF Production at Georgia Plant

After years of development, LanzaJet has begun production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its $300 million Freedom Pines Fuels facility in Soperton, Georgia. This marks a major achievement for the company, making it the first to produce SAF at a commercial scale using ethanol as a feedstock.

While most SAF produced commercially thus far has been through the bio-oil HEFA pathway using used cooking oil, fats, and grease as feedstocks, LanzaJet’s proprietary next-generation alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technology represents a new avenue for the industry. The ATJ process—or ethanol-to-jet as it is sometimes called—converts low-carbon alcohols, like ethanol, into a synthetic aviation fuel that meets the same performance standards as conventional jet-A.

It is designed to work with a broad range of feedstocks such as agricultural residues, energy crops, municipal solid waste, and captured carbon to deliver “significant” lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions reduction over petroleum-based fuel. At full capacity, the facility will be able to produce 10 million gallons of renewable fuel a year.

The technology was developed in 2012 in partnership with Pacific Northwest National Lab, and the production pathway was approved by ASTM (the regulatory body for fuel safety) in 2016. The first commercial flight on ATJ fuel was by Virgin Atlantic in 2018.

“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,” said company CEO Jimmy Samartzis. “We’re now in a unique position with technology and operational know-how to shape this global industry in the decade ahead.”