Summary
- Southwest Airlines invests $30M in LanzaJet for US SAF facility, aligning with goal to decarbonize aviation industry.
- LanzaJet and Southwest Airlines collaborate to develop corn stover to ethanol technology with SAFFiRE Renewables.
- Southwest Airlines continues sustainability journey, goals to interchange 10% of jet fuel consumption with SAF by 2030.
On Wednesday, February 28, LanzaJet, a number one sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer, revealed that it received a big $30 million investment from Southwest Airlines. The Dallas, Texas-based carrier and LanzaJet will work toward the event of a SAF production facility in the USA. LanzaJet will even collaborate on the production of a corn stover to ethanol technology with one other company that Southwest Airlines recently invested in, SAFFiRE Renewables.
Recent US-based production facility
With the brand new investment from Southwest Airlines, LanzaJet will plan to start specializing in an SAF production facility in the USA. Southwest Airlines might be the first SAF user of fuels developed from this facility. This facility will utilize LanzaJet’s primary production technology. The fuel created is constituted of emerging industrial residue-based feedstock solutions and can assist in decarbonizing the aviation industry.
Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock
The Chief Executive Officer of LanzaJet, Jimmy Samartzis, spoke in regards to the recent investment and developing the production facility. He stated,
“The alignment of Southwest and LanzaJet is a robust combination that has the potential to integrate the SAF value chain and to double-down on the US ethanol, aviation, and biofuel industries. Our work together will lead us closer to meeting aviation’s decarbonization goals by continuing to scale SAF production in the USA while also tapping into the US ethanol industry’s potential to catalyze the following generation of SAF production.”
Moreover, the US-based facility might be used to help one other Southwest-invested company, SAFFiRE. SAFFiRE enables the production of SAF from cellulosic ethanol. The ethanol that SAFFiRE produces is processed from corn stover, which is what the stalks, leaves, and cobs left over in corn fields after harvest are referred to.
Continued investment from Southwest
Southwest’s investment in LanzaJet comes after the corporate’s recent opening of the LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels facility in Soperton, Georgia. This facility produces SAF and renewable diesel fuel. Southwest hopes to benefit from the opening of this facility and proceed scaling up the production of SAF within the aviation industry. The President and Chief Executive Officer of Southwest Airlines, Bob
Photo: Lukas Souza | Easy Flying
Jordan, also spoke in regards to the recent investment. He stated,
“We’re taking the following step in our sustainability journey toward our goal of net zero by 2050. We look ahead to working with LanzaJet, which is developing potentially necessary technology that would create more opportunities for Southwest to acquire scalable SAF, a critical component within the success of our environmental sustainability goal to interchange 10% of our jet fuel consumption with SAF by 2030.”
Over the past several years, Southwest Airlines has invested in several SAF-producing firms and other firms leading sustainable efforts within the aviation industry. The airline began utilizing SAF in its industrial operations in 2022. Prior to that, the airline had existing partnerships with Neste, SAFFiRE, Velocys, Marathon Petroleum, and Phillips 66.
Neste, the world’s leading producer of sustainable fuels, partnered with the airline to implement SAF in 2021. It assisted Southwest to change into the primary airline to make use of SAF at Oakland International Airport (OAK). The airline’s other partnerships will further enhance its use of SAF in industrial operations.