Shell invests in Sustainable Aviation Fuel start-up

Replacing fossil fuels with Sustainable Aviation Fuel is one of the main topics in aviation in the fight against climate change. The fact that Sustainable Aviation Fuel is becoming more and more important is now also shown by the new investment of the mineral oil giant Shell. The company recently invested an undisclosed sum in Sustainable Aviation Fuel start-up LanzaJet.

With Shell, the US start-up now has another big player among its investors. Before Shell’s investment, LanzaJet had already won Suncor Energy, British Airways and Mitsui as supporters. The technology with which LanzaJet wants to win Sustainable Aviation Fuel sounds exciting. The process is called “alcohol-to-jet”. It involves converting waste-derived ethanol into low-carbon aviation fuel. LanzaJet claims that the resulting Sustainable Aviation Fuel produces 70% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional jet fuel.

How successful the “alcohol-to-jet” technology really is is to be seen by 2022 at the latest. Currently, the first LanzaJet plant is still under construction. But from 2022, the Freedom Pines Fuels Biorefinery in Georgia is expected to produce up to ten million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel per year. Whether Shell’s investment will pay off will become clear when the fuel is first used in commercial aviation.

Picture © Jacky Lo

by Johanna Koyser