Microsoft invests $50m in alcohol-to-jet fuel biorefinery

Microsoft is investing $50m in a LanzaJet facility in Georgia that will produce jet fuel from ethanol next year, LanzaJet said. The airline industry is considered one of the hardest to decarbonize. Renewable aviation fuel accounted for less than 0.1% of current global jet fuel demand of about 330m tonnes in 2019, investment bank Jefferies said last year. Governments and investors are trying to boost incentives to produce lower-carbon emitting jet fuel.LanzaJet, based in Chicago, said it has nearly completed on-site engineering at its Freedom Pines Fuels Biorefinery, with plans to start producing 10m gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel per year from sustainable ethanol, including from waste-based feedstocks, in 2023. Oil majors, airlines and other petroleum trading companies including BA are also funding the company. The White House said last year that it wants to lower aviation emissions by 20% by 2030, as airlines face pressure from environmental groups to lower their carbon footprint.<br/>