LanzaTech Global, a leader in carbon management solutions, has received a grant of £6.4 million from the UK government's Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF), operated by the Department for Transport (DfT).

The grant will accelerate the development of LanzaTech’s innovative DRAGON 1 & 2 projects, each playing a crucial role in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK. Project DRAGON stands for Decarbonizing and Reimagining Aviation for the Goal Of Netzero.

The DRAGON 1 project is LanzaTech’s existing UK SAF project that will convert recycled carbon fuel ethanol (including ethanol from LanzaTech’s gas fermentation process) into Advanced SAF in Port Talbot, South Wales, using the LanzaJet Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ) process.

The DRAGON 2 project is a Power-to-Liquid (PtL) facility that will convert waste carbon dioxide and green hydrogen into ethanol for subsequent conversion into PtL SAF at an adjacent facility using the LanzaJet® Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ) process. The location for DRAGON 2 in the UK will be determined during this grant-funded project.

Integrating LanzaTech’s gas fermentation process with LanzaJet’s AtJ technology gives this approach a distinctive edge. By turning regional waste resources into valuable SAF, LanzaTech facilitates the production of low Carbon Intensity (CI) fuels, contributing positively to the UK’s SAF Mandate and supporting economic growth and job creation in industrial zones in the UK.

"The future of aviation fuel is ethanol-to-SAF and LanzaTech is at the forefront,” said Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech.

Today's allocation boosts total government contributions through the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF) to £198 million, aimed at expanding cleaner aviation technologies.