Airbus chief sustainability officer Julie Kitcher.
Airbus has invested an undisclosed sum in US-based sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer LanzaJet to help increase the global supply of SAF.
LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis said the Airbus investment would support growth, enabling LanzaJet to scale its SAF production and deployment. He added that LanzaJet has “a diverse portfolio of strategic investors.”
Airbus and LanzaJet said the funding would support the development of alcohol-to-jet fuels, by enabling LanzaJet to develop and scale up its ethanol-to-SAF capabilities.
LanzaJet is starting the world’s first commercial-scale ethanol-to-SAF production at its US-based Freedom Pines Fuels plant. Beyond this, the SAF producer has projects spanning 25 countries on five continents, aimed at scaling ethanol-to-jet globally.
Airbus chief sustainability officer Julie Kitcher described SAF as “one of the most important levers” in aviation decarbonization. She added that Airbus was looking to partner with energy technology suppliers, to explore “innovative production pathways.”
LanzaJet uses low-carbon ethanol to create SAF with a 70% lower carbon footprint than traditional fuels, which can be combined with other carbon reduction technologies.
Speaking at Farnborough, Kitcher said Airbus sees both SAF and hydrogen as central to aviation decarbonization. During the show, Airbus announced a separate partnership with Ireland-based lessor Avolon, forming part of Airbus’ ZEROe hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft project.
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