The world's first plant to use ethanol to produce low-pollution jet fuel has opened in the United States. Iowa corn growers and biofuel producers say the development is a wake-up call to accelerate decarbonization.
Illinois-based LanzaJet announced Wednesday that the Georgia-based LanzaJet will invest in Georgia at an event Wednesday that included investors including Suncor Energy, IAG SA's British Airways, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and local officials. officially opened the $200 million facility located in the countryside.
LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis said in an interview that the U.S. government-funded plant will produce biofuels made from both traditional feedstocks, such as U.S. corn, and advanced technology. He said he plans to use the. The facility, located in Soperton, Georgia, will produce 10 million gallons of his SAF and renewable diesel annually. US President Joe Biden has called for SAF-wide production of at least 3 billion gallons per year by 2030.
advertisement
Continue reading below
With the opening, the Iowa group says farmers and ethanol producers in the nation's top corn-producing state are at risk of missing out on an opportunity to benefit greatly from the developing market for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). he warned.
“Currently, no ethanol plant in Iowa has a carbon intensity score low enough to qualify as a feedstock to produce SAF,” according to a statement from the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and the Iowa Corn Advancement Board. In contrast, Brazil, which primarily produces ethanol from sugarcane, produces more than 7 billion gallons of ethanol whose carbon score would qualify it as SAF production, the groups said.
© 2024 Bloomberg
