LanzaJet secures first Breakthrough Energy Catalyst funding

Breakthrough Energy Catalyst is a unique program that brings together corporate and philanthropic organizations to accelerate the deployment of essential technologies by funding key first-of-a-kind commercial-scale projects.

First commercial-scale AtJ SAF plant

Estimated to be operational in 2023, LanzaJet’s Freedom Pines Fuels project is the firm’s first commercial-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant.

It is also slated to be the world’s first commercial facility to produce SAF via the Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ) pathway, which will lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 70 percent compared to fossil jet fuel.

The plant is expected to produce nine million (US) gallons of SAF (≈ 34 million litres) and one million gallons (≈ 3.8 million litres) of renewable diesel annually.

Once fully operational, this plant will play a critical role in scaling SAF production and bringing lower-cost sustainable fuels to market.

Construction of the plant will enable the significant scale-up of LanzaJet’s technology within the United States and globally, with subsequent projects already in the planning phase in North America, Europe, and Asia that, together, would produce more than one billion gallons (≈ 3.78 billion litres) of SAF annually.

Bridging a funding gap

First-of-a-kind projects for emerging technologies often struggle to access low-cost capital because they have high green premiums and frequently face unforeseen challenges and costs, especially in the current inflationary environment.

By providing capital to these types of early commercial facilities, Catalyst funding can reduce the risk for follow-on investments and accelerate the deployment of clean technologies.

Breakthrough Energy Catalyst is a new way for the private sector to accelerate the clean energy transition by funding projects that will ensure essential climate solutions get to market on the timeline the world needs, said Rodi Guidero, Executive Director, Breakthrough Energy & Managing Partner, Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

In this case, Freedom Pines Fuels’ Catalyst grant filled a funding gap and will enable the plant to maintain its current development timeline.

LanzaJet’s new sustainable aviation fuel plant could play a vital role in decarbonizing aviation while demonstrating how the jobs and businesses of the clean energy economy can power communities. We’re grateful to Catalyst’s partners, who understand climate leadership means supporting the technologies that will eliminate emissions and that solving our climate challenges will require nothing less than mobilizing the world’s economic engine to build a net-zero future, Rodi Guidero said.

Importantly, the grant will also spur further SAF innovation by helping create a new market for scalable, low-carbon ethanol from sustainable sources by setting the expectation that the plant will transition to second-generation ethanol, including from waste-based feedstocks, by its fifth year.

This transition will complement the work LanzaJet is already doing to build SAF plants using second-generation ethanol in the UK and develop strategic partnerships to accelerate the advanced fuel’s development, of which there is currently little supply in the market.

Global potential

Aviation is estimated to account for approximately 2-3 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually, and as a “drop-in” fuel, SAF offers an important way to quickly decarbonize aviation with existing aircraft currently in use around the world.

LanzaJet is grounded in innovation, and we work every day with a sense of urgency to address our global climate challenge. To maximize our impact and scale our technology to deliver significant quantities of sustainable aviation fuel worldwide, partnerships matter, said Jimmy Samartzis, CEO of LanzaJet.

Produced from a variety of low-carbon, sustainable feedstocks such as agricultural waste, municipal solid waste, energy crops, or carbon that is captured from industrial processes or ambient air, SAF is a like-kind replacement for traditional jet fuel and is compatible with existing aircraft and infrastructure.

SAF can dramatically reduce lifecycle GHG emissions compared to conventional fuel made from crude oil, while also significantly improving local air quality by reducing conventional air pollutants like particulate matter (PM).

We have a real opportunity on our doorstep to significantly scale up and globally deploy our technology, and we wouldn’t be able to build this plant as quickly or affordably without Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst grant, which reduced our total cost of capital and is critical to reducing emissions and accelerating the pace of bringing SAF to the global market, said Jimmy Samartzis.

Well funded project

Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst grant joins earlier supporters of LanzaJet’s Freedom Pines Fuels plant, which has received funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, as well as investments from LanzaJet’s shareholders Mitsui & Co., Suncor Energy, LanzaTech, British Airways, and Shell.

The plant is being built at a unique moment of opportunity for SAF. The recently signed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes tax credits that will help jumpstart the production of SAF in the US and make clean jet fuels more price competitive.

It also includes US$297 million for a grant program dedicated to scaling up clean aviation technologies, including SAF.