The world’s first fuel refinery designed to make sustainable aviation fuel from ethanol is expected to start operations before the end of the year after several delays, according to owner LanzaJet Inc.
The $200 million facility in rural Georgia, initially scheduled to start commercial production last year, is now expected to begin operating by the end of September 2025, LanzaJet Chief Executive Officer Jimmy Samartzis said in an interview with Bloomberg. The latest delay was the result of equipment issues, he said.
LanzaJet, which received US government funds to build the facility, is being closely watched as a barometer for the success of the nascent ethanol-to-jet industry. The company imported Brazilian sugar-cane ethanol last year to pilot production, but more than a year later, it hasn’t been able to sell its green jet fuel in the open market.
“My hope is that by the end of the third quarter we are fully operating,” Samartzis said. “The modifications we made to the equipment that was hindering us, unrelated to the technology itself, should satisfy what we need.”
A flurry of deals among airlines, fuel producers, and agriculture companies have been announced since 2021, when then-President Joe Biden called for 3 billion gallons of annual domestic sustainable aviation fuel production by the end of this decade. The market has since grown more than sevenfold to 38.7 million gallons in 2024, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, can be made from a range of raw materials. But most American corn-ethanol doesn’t meet the low-carbon threshold required to qualify for a tax credit aimed at boosting production of domestic renewable fuels, known as 45Z. The fuel also faces challenges in markets like the EU, where carbon intensity is calculated using the CORSIA model, over the U.S. built and preferred GREET model.
The new law, signed by President Trump on the 4th of July, also states that the tax credit only applies to producers of SAF made using ingredients grown or produced in North America. The move disadvantages imported fuels and feedstocks, effectively freezing out imported products, like the sugar cane-based ethanol from Brazil that LanzaJet plans to use in its production process.
Still, Samartzis said production at the Soperton, Georgia, facility will start with Brazilian ethanol even if the company can’t benefit from the credit. That’s because only a fraction of U.S. product meets the required threshold of lowering greenhouse gas emissions by 50%.
LanzaJet said it plans to switch to American feedstocks as soon as possible, with Samartzis now advocating for a threshold on emissions reduction of as low as 30%.
The company’s factory in Georgia will produce up to 10 million gallons of SAF and renewable diesel annually when operations commence.
Originally shared by Bloomberg. Article and title edited for clarity and purpose.