The US made a huge technological leap forward this year with the launch of the world’s first plant that makes sustainable jet fuel from ethanol — but it’s Brazilian farmers, not American ones, who’ll initially reap the benefits.
Although the LanzaJet Inc. facility in rural Georgia is able to process ethanol made from American-grown corn, it will likely run on mostly sugarcane ethanol imported from Brazil when it first ramps up to commercial production. That’s because many of the largest Brazilian mills have already been certified to make feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that meets official international and domestic standards.
