Georgia: The world’s first commercial plant designed to produce green jet fuel from ethanol is now expected to begin operations by the end of September 2025, following multiple delays. The US$200 million facility, located in rural Georgia, is owned by LanzaJet and was initially scheduled to start production in 2024, reported Bloomberg.
LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis confirmed the revised timeline in a recent interview, citing equipment-related issues—not problems with the core technology—as the reason for the latest setback.
“The modifications we made to the equipment that was hindering us, unrelated to the technology itself, should satisfy what we need,” Samartzis said. “My hope is that by the end of the third quarter we are fully operating.”
The project, partly funded by the US government, is seen as a key test case for the emerging ethanol-to-jet fuel industry. In 2024, LanzaJet imported ethanol made from Brazilian sugarcane to begin pilot production. However, the company has yet to make a commercial sale of its green jet fuel.
The plant’s progress is being closely followed by industry stakeholders, as it represents a significant step toward decarbonizing aviation by using renewable feedstocks like ethanol to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
