On the 4th October 2018, the aviation industry took a landmark step towards making commercially viable sustainable aviation fuel a reality – thanks to a world first flight by Virgin Atlantic and LanzaTech, supported by long-term partner Boeing.
The first batch of LanzaTech jet fuel was used on a commercial flight for the very first time – Virgin Atlantic’s VS16 flight from Orlando to London Gatwick, operated by a Boeing 747 aircraft. Passengers on the historic flight were welcomed on arrival by the airline’s founder Sir Richard Branson who marshalled the aircraft into stand. This flight follows hot on the heels of a £410000 UK government Future Fuels for Flight and Freight grant to determine the feasibility of building a 40-50 million US gallon jet fuel plant in Britain.
LanzaTech produces next generation ‘advanced’ fuels by recycling waste industrial gases like those produced from steel making and other heavy industrial processes. LanzaTech takes these waste, carbon-rich gases to first make ethanol. The ethanol can be used for a range of low carbon products, including jet fuel. The innovative alcohol-to-jet process used to make the fuel in this flight was developed in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Lab and the US Department of Energy.
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