“What was at one time conceived to be impossible, now has been proved on this location today as possible.”
That’s what USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack had to say on Wednesday in Soperton, Georgia about the opening of the LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels facility, the first such plant in the world that can take ethanol and turn it into sustainable aviation fuel.
Vilsack says if things go as planned, there could be plants like this all over the country generating a lot of demand for the feedstock to make ethanol.
“There need to be, and ought to be, multiple feedstocks in order for this market opportunity to be available all over the United States, not just in one or two regions of the country.”
Each year, an alarming number of farms and rural businesses go out of business, but Vilsack says, “This project, this industry, provides a ray of hope to reverse that trend.”
The LanzaJet website says the facility has created 250 jobs for the local community, with the potential for 80 more as a result of the facility, and it will provide a $75 million boost to the local economy.
Less than 1% of jet fuel used today is sustainably sourced. Vilsack says the aviation industry wants and needs more.
“At the end of the day, if we’re really to mitigate the consequences of a changing climate, the transportation sector clearly has to get to a net zero future. In order for it to get to a net zero future, aviation has to get there as well. And it can’t get there without a sustainable aviation fuel. So, this is a day to celebrate a very significant step forward.”
LanzaJet touts their versatile production method that can use any low-carbon ethanol, like corn ethanol.
Source: USDA Radio News
