Microsoft Has Just Developed Jet Fuel From Ethanol, Indonesia Has Made Bioavtur

The bioavtur-powered CN235 is already far ahead of the ethanol that Microsoft will develop. (photo: doc. ITB.ac.id)

JAKARTA – The development of green technology that uses environmentally friendly materials is increasingly in demand. One of them by the technology giant from the US, Microsoft Corp..

Microsoft recently invested $50 million in a LanzaJet facility in Georgia that will produce jet fuel from ethanol next year, a source at LanzaJet told Reuters.

The aviation industry is considered one of the most difficult to decarbonize. Renewable aviation fuels accounted for less than 0.1% of the current global jet fuel demand of about 330 million tonnes in 2019, investment bank Jefferies said last year.

Governments and investors are trying to increase incentives to produce jet fuel with lower carbon emissions.

Now Chicago-based LanzaJet says it is close to completing on-site engineering at its Freedom Pines Fuels Biorefinery, with plans to start producing 10 million gallons per year, sustainable aviation fuel, and renewable diesel from sustainable ethanol, including from waste feedstocks, by the year 2023.

Other oil companies, airlines, and oil trading companies including Suncor Energy Inc., British Airways, and Shell are also funding the company.

The White House said last year it wanted to reduce aviation emissions by 20% by 2030, as airlines face pressure from environmental groups to lower their carbon footprint.

President Joe Biden's administration has also touted a tax credit for sustainable jet fuel production as part of the Build Back Better law, which is currently stalled in Congress.

The European Union aims to increase the number of SAFs blended in petroleum jet fuel to 63% by 2050.

Microsoft created the Climate Innovation Fund in 2020 to invest $1 billion over the next four years to accelerate the development of carbon removal technologies.

Meanwhile, Indonesia is one of the countries that has developed Bioavtur, a mixture of avtur and palm oil. Even Indonesia's Bioavtur had been demonstrated in October 2021.

The flight test of bioavtur fuel was successfully carried out on the CN-235 Flying Test Bed belonging to PT Dirgantara Indonesia on October 6, 2021. The flight test used a mixture of 2.4 percent biofuel mixed with avtur.

This history was created thanks to the support of various parties in the development of bioavtur. With the presence of 2.4 percent Bioavtur fuel (J2.4) it can support efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation sector.