The FLITE (Fuel via Low Carbon Integrated Technology from Ethanol) consortium, led by SkyNRG and with LanzaTech as the technology provider, announced recently that they will build the first-of-its-kind LanzaJet^TM Alcohol to Jet (AtJ) facility. The facility will convert waste-based ethanol to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a scale of over 30,000 tons/yr. The project received €20 million in grant funding from the EU H2020 program and is a major milestone on the path to a net-zero emission for the aviation industry.  (Photo quoted from SkyNRG’s official website)

Sustainable aviation fuel is critical to reduce emissions from the aviation sector in the coming decades. Ambitious targets are proposed as part of the European Green Deal ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility’ policy and the new legislative initiative ‘EU ReFuelEU Aviation’. To meet these targets in the years to come, it is essential that we diversify feedstock and technology options for SAF production. This pre-commercial AtJ production plant will pave the way to implementing SAF production across Europe and around the globe, producing commercially relevant quantities of SAF to support future aviation’s climate targets.

The FLITE project kick-off was held on December 8, 2020. The consortium consists of leaders from their respective industries. SkyNRG, a global market leader for SAF solutions, is acting as the project coordinator and managing downstream supply chain development; carbon recycling company, LanzaTech, will be responsible for plant design, construction and operations using the LanzaJet^TM AtJ technology; Fraunhofer, Europe’s largest applied research organization, will oversee and distribute communications about the project; energy and sustainability strategy consultancy E4tech, will conduct the life cycle assessment; and the world’s most trusted, valued and peer-reviewed standard for the bio-based economy, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), will support the project through guidance on RSB certification of the facility.

Looking to accelerate local economic development in innovation, energy security, and job creation, the FLITE project, will produce more than just fuel. The FLITE AtJ facility will be fully operational in 2024, producing SAF using waste-based ethanol sourced from multiple European producers. In addition, it will produce SAF which will result in a significant carbon emission reduction relative to fossil kerosene and will also reduce emissions of particulates matter and sulphur. As such the SAF will be certified through the robust standards of RSB.

(IRuniverse)