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Australia’s Wagner Sustainable Fuel wants to equip its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) refinery with a joint solution from LanzaTech and LanzaJet that turns municipal and industrial waste into jet-ready fuel.
Slated to be operational around 2028, the Brisbane facility will produce 27 million gallons of SAF per year, according to Wagner. CirculAir, the LanzaTech and LanzaJet solution, would provide cutting-edge technology.
LanzaTech uses fermentation technology to convert all kinds of waste, from municipal waste to industrial emissions, to make CarbonSmart™ ethanol. LanzaJet converts the ethanol into drop-in SAF, which is ready to fuel a plane.
“The SAF made through this process will reduce aviation emissions by 85% to carbon negative,” according to LanzaJet, who announced the partnership on Aug. 19.
How SAF can decarbonize air travel
SAF is a readily available solution to decarbonize air travel, helping mitigate climate change. It can be dropped into existing jet airliners and reduce carbon emissions by 80% or more compared to traditional aviation fuel.
LanzaJet is already using its technology at its own facility, the world’s first ethanol-to-sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant, which opened this year in Soperton, GA. The plant is expected to produce 10 million gallons of SAF and renewable diesel annually.
The LanzaJet plant and the new plant planned in Brisbane will help scale the production of SAF worldwide. However, more production capacity is needed in the U.S. to reach the Biden administration’s goal of producing enough SAF to meet 100% of commercial aviation demand by 2050. The total 2023 demand for jet fuel was 1.6 million barrels a day; U.S. SAF production is expected to reach 50,000 barrels a day by next year.
Technology like that of LanzaTech and Lanzajet is helping drive the scale-up effort, and the government is seeking to help as well. Government incentives for SAF production include the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provides tax credits for fuel blends.
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) has long pushed for further legislation and regulation to encourage scale-up of SAF production.
What’s next for CirculAir?
The CiculAir system is undergoing a feasibility study for the Brisbane site. The companies expect it will lead to the installation of the system and construction of the refinery, LanzaTech told Aviation Daily.
Wagner has said construction of the plant is expected to begin in 2026, which would mean opening around 2028.
“LanzaTech and LanzaJet look forward to providing a joint commercial solution to support the work of Wagner Sustainable Fuels and advance the development of a domestic Australian SAF market,” said Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech and Board Chair of LanzaJet. She is a member of the Agriculture & Environment Governing Board of BIO.
