LanzaTech launches palm oil alternative-based SAF pathway developed with Fraunhofer and Mibelle

In Illinois, LanzaTech Global, Inc. announced an innovative advancement with the potential to transform global sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production. Having successfully commercialized its technology to produce ethanol for SAF via the Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ) process, the team’s breakthrough expands LanzaTech’s capability for producing SAF via the Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) pathway. This groundbreaking innovation offers a sustainable palm oil substitute, leveraging LanzaTech’s versatile technology which is pivotal for decarbonization efforts across various sectors.

Collaboratively developed with the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB and the Mibelle Group, this palm oil alternative replicates essential functional properties needed in the cosmetics industry. Moreover, this development potentially introduces a novel route to the HEFA pathway for SAF production, circumventing the sustainability and supply challenges currently present with conventional oil crops and waste oils typically used in this process.

The unique dual fermentation technology, pioneered by LanzaTech and Fraunhofer IGB, transforms waste CO2 gases into alcohol and further into a palm oil-like fat using non-GMO oil yeasts in a secondary fermentation process. Following successful laboratory trials at Fraunhofer IGB and promising application tests at Mibelle laboratories, efforts are now focused on scaling up production. This process is currently underway at Fraunhofer’s Center for Chemical-Biotechnological Processes in Leuna, representing a crucial step toward commercial production.