Microsoft Invests $50 Million in Ethanol-jet Fuel Biorefinery

Microsoft will invest $50 million in a LanzaJet plant in Georgia that will produce jet fuel from ethanol next year, LanzaJet said.

Aviation is considered one of the most difficult industries to decarbonize. Investment bank Jefferies said last year that renewable jet fuel accounted for less than 0.1% of current global jet fuel demand, about 330 million tonnes, in 2019. Governments and investors are trying to stimulate production of low-carbon jet fuel.

Chicago-based LanzaJet said site engineering at its Freedom Pines fuel biorefinery is nearing completion, with plans to begin producing 10 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable fuel per year from sustainable ethanol, including waste feedstocks, starting in 2023. Recycled diesel.

Oil majors, airlines and other oil trading companies including Suncor Energy, British Airways and Shell are also funding the company.

The White House last year said it wanted to reduce aviation emissions by 20 percent by 2030, as airlines face pressure from environmental groups to lower their carbon footprints.

The EU aims to increase the amount of SAF blended into petroleum jet fuel to 63% by 2050.

Microsoft launched the Climate Innovation Fund in 2020 to invest $1 billion over the next four years to accelerate the development of carbon removal technologies.