Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

On October 22, an investment fund founded by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently provided $50 million to a start-up to help build a large plant that converts alcohol into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The startup, LanzaJet, confirmed that it had received funding from Gates' Breakthrough Energy Fund (Breakthrough Energy) and would use it to build its first large plant in Sapperton, Georgia.

At present, airlines are exploring the use of sustainable aviation fuels to make the industry more environmentally friendly. However, due to the relatively low production, the popularity of this kind of fuel is greatly restricted.

The Sopperton plant, also known as the Free Pine fuel Plant, will start production in 2023. LanzaJet said that when the plant is fully operational, it will produce 9 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel and 1 million gallons of renewable diesel each year.

LanzaJet said the funding from the Breakthrough Energy Fund would help it ensure that the plant, which will produce twice as much sustainable aviation fuel as the US, goes into production as expected. LanzaJet uses alcohol from products such as sugar cane and waste corn to produce fuel. The company said it would reduce its carbon emissions by at least 70 per cent compared with conventional aviation fuels.

Gates created the groundbreaking Energy Fund in 2015 to promote innovation and investment in clean energy technologies. According to reports, the $50 million investment comes from Microsoft, BlackRock Foundation, Builders Vision and Gates Foundation.

Before that, LanzaJet had received hundreds of millions of dollars in financing. In addition, in January this year, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, also founded by Gates, invested another $50 million in the project.

Commercial aircraft only account for about 2% of total human emissions. Sustainable aviation fuels are becoming more and more important as airlines plan to reduce the impact on the climate in order to achieve the International Air Transport Association (IATA) goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

In December 2021, United Airlines conducted a test to fly entirely on sustainable aviation fuel. At the time, a Boeing 737 Max 8 flew from O'Hare in Chicago to Washington, D.C., with one engine using 500 gallons of sustainable jet fuel and the other using 500 gallons of conventional jet fuel.

In March this year, an Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft conducted a similar test, except that it uses fuel extracted from cooking oil.

Welcome to subscribe "Shulou Technology Information " to get latest news, interesting things and hot topics in the IT industry, and controls the hottest and latest Internet news, technology news and IT industry trends.