LanzaJet Inc., a leading next-gen fuels technology company and producer of sustainable fuels, has been awarded more than $13 million (£10 million) from the U.K. Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF) to accelerate development of Project Speedbird, a major sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) biorefinery in Teesside, U.K., being developed primarily for LanzaJet investor and SAF customer British Airways.
The award will support the next phase of work on Project Speedbird as it progresses into front-end engineering design (FEED), marking a key milestone in the creation of one of the U.K.’s first commercial-scale ethanol-to-SAF production facilities using waste-based feedstocks. Among the projects selected in this round of the AFF, Speedbird received the largest award, underscoring LanzaJet’s advancement in the SAF industry, the maturity of the project, and the U.K.’s commitment to moving beyond pilots toward industrial deployment.
Project Speedbird is set to transform the aviation sector by producing SAF from low-carbon ethanol using LanzaJet’s patented and fully integrated Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ) technology. The LanzaJet solution incorporates Technip Energies’ Hummingbird® ethanol-to-ethylene technology, which Project Speedbird has licensed, and which is deployed at commercial demonstration scale for the first time at LanzaJet’s Freedom Pines Fuels facility in Georgia, USA.
Once Project Speedbird is operational, the facility is expected to produce over 30 million gallons (approximately 90 kilotons) of sustainable fuels from low-carbon ethanol each year, significantly reducing lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional fossil jet fuel.
“We’ve maintained a long-held belief that creating a new industry requires partnership across the public and private sectors. We’re proud to collaborate with the U.K. Department for Transport to advance Project Speedbird as a leading project catalyzing SAF development in the U.K.,” said Jimmy Samartzis, CEO at LanzaJet. “This support demonstrates confidence in LanzaJet as a leading SAF company, in our ATJ technology, and in the critical role of ethanol-to-SAF in delivering economic growth, creating jobs, and decarbonizing air travel. Project Speedbird is vital to building a national SAF industry in the U.K. and to unlocking opportunity and innovation in the region. We thank the U.K. Department for Transport for its leadership and vision in accelerating the transition to net-zero aviation.”
The project aligns with the U.K. Government’s SAF mandate, which requires 10% of jet fuel used in the U.K. to come from sustainable sources by 2030.
Located in the heart of Teesside, the LanzaJet plant will also deliver significant regional benefits – creating hundreds of jobs, boosting the local economy, and contributing to the region’s position as a clean energy hub. By anchoring the project in Teesside, LanzaJet is helping to build out a broader ecosystem for sustainable fuels, one that connects local feedstock providers, renewable energy producers, and storage and distribution partners. In doing so, the project supports the U.K.’s broader net-zero strategy and the Government’s ambition for the country to become a global SAF leader.
With this latest milestone, LanzaJet continues to lead the scale-up of sustainable fuels globally as it combines technological innovation, operating experience, and deep partnerships to decarbonize aviation at pace.
