Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Processing Plants with a staggering capacity of 120 million gallons per year is to be built by Marquis Sustainable Aviation Fuel as a result of a memorandum of understanding with LanzaJet, who is the SAF technology provider and producer.
Conglomerates such as Microsoft and Shell, together with the U.S. Department of Energy, have invested millions of dollars in this project. It is expected that in 2023 production of tens of millions of gallons of SAF will begin, with the hopes of producing 1 billion gallons by 2030.
What is SAF?
Sustainable Aviation Fuel is an alternative to petroleum-based jet fuel. It is less harmful to the environment as it reduces carbon emissions when combusted. The aviation industry can utilize the SAF straight away without making any changes to the existing infrastructure.
The process utilises low-carbon intensity (CI) capturing and sequestration to produce SAF, where CO2 is captured and taken away from the flue gasses when fossil fuels (coal, oil, or natural gas) combust. LanzaJet plans to produce low carbon intensity SAF with a good proportion of alcohol. The yielded SAF results in a 70% reduction in greenhouse gases compared to burning conventional jet fuel.
To date, more than 150,00 flights have been powered by SAF. Rather than the fuel being refined from petroleum, it is produced mainly from sustainable sources like ethanol and waste oils.
LanzaJet CEO, Jimmy Samartzis, explains
“We strongly believe in the importance of taking action today to enable the decarbonization of industry, and our partnership with Marquis SAF is a clear example of putting this into practice. We’re able to drive deeper GHG reductions in existing biofuel production, ensure a prosperous future for producers and farmers alike, and decarbonize the aviation sector by deploying low-carbon liquid fuels where they will be needed most in the future – and importantly where they will drive the largest climate and air quality benefits when also considering non-CO2 impacts”
“This demonstrates the opportunity for the U.S. to produce meaningful volumes of sustainable aviation fuel at scale, transitioning feedstocks from the production of traditional biofuels into sustainable aviation fuel. SAF from existing sources alone could replace more than 50% of U.S. fossil jet fuel use. The key is low carbon intensity, where existing infrastructure is paired with carbon capture and sequestration and renewable energy. Marquis is doing exactly this and makes for a great partnership with LanzaJet.”
Climate Crisis
The CEO of Marquis SAF, Mark Marquis, stated
“The partnership we now have in place with LanzaJet allows our company to advance low-carbon solutions to address the climate crisis. LanzaJet’s ATJ technology will be fully integrated into our sustainable fuels plant with a focus on producing sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel. In addition, we are making investments in carbon capture, corn kernel fiber technology, and utilizing Marquis’ proprietary ProCap system for the production of high protein feed and renewable corn oil in this new state-of-the-art facility. This will enable us to lead the decarbonization of the transportation sector in the years to come.”
More airlines opt to use SAF, and production is increasing; what do you think the future holds for sustainable aviation? Let us know in the comments below!
