Sustainable fuels specialist LanzaJet has opened the world¡¯s first production facility designed to turn ethanol into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels plant, which has been financially backed by British Airways, has opened in the US state of Georgia. The company plans to produce 10 million gallons of SAF and renewable diesel per year through the conversion of low carbon ethanol.

LanzaJet said that the new facility would serve as a ¡°blueprint¡± to scale up the production of SAF globally, as it aims to produce one billion gallons of SAF by 2030.

Jimmy Samartzis, LanzaJet¡¯s CEO, added: ¡°This historic milestone is testament to the conviction required by industry, government and funders to advance innovation and stretch the boundaries of what is achievable to tackle climate change.

¡°Between feedstock versatility, efficiency and economics that enable scale globally, we stand ready to meet aviation's decarbonisation goals.¡±

IAG, the parent company of British Airways, is also one of LanzaJet¡¯s shareholders and the two companies are also working on Project Speedbird, a SAF production facility being built in the UK.

Other investors in the Freedom Pines Fuels project include Japan¡¯s All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund.

Rapidly increasing the use of SAF by airlines will be a crucial element in the sector reaching its target of becoming net zero for carbon emissions by 2050. SAF produces up to 80 per cent fewer CO2 emissions over the lifecycle of the fuel than traditional kerosene-based jet fuel.