Photo credit: Renewable Fuels Association.
Pioneering sustainable aviation fuel producer LanzaJet was presented with the Renewable Fuels Association’s 2026 Industry Award at the National Ethanol Conference in Orlando. In November, the company became the world’s first to produce jet fuel from ethanol at a commercial-scale facility.
“Pioneering an entirely new technology means stepping into the unknown,” said RFA president and CEO Geoff Cooper. “It means years of research without guarantees, overcoming technical setbacks, earning trust from partners and regulators, and having the resilience to persist when the path forward isn’t yet clear. Innovation at this scale requires vision, courage, and an unwavering belief in what’s possible. This accomplishment is the result of 15 years of research, innovation, investment and teamwork. By unlocking the potential of their proprietary Alcohol-to-Jet technology, LanzaJet has not only advanced the global deployment of sustainable aviation fuel but also created new opportunities for decarbonization, economic development, and energy security around the world.
“They have also shown that a tremendous new market opportunity for American ethanol producers and farmers is no longer just over the horizon. It is well within our reach. Their work exemplifies what’s possible when innovation, resilience, and purpose come together to solve one of the toughest challenges of our time.”
The LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels facility in Soperton, Georgia, has an annual production capacity of 10 million gallons of alcohol-to-jet SAF, and it remains the only biorefinery currently producing ethanol-based SAF in the United States. LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis was at the National Ethanol Conference to receive the award; Meg Witty, vice president of corporate and government affairs, represents the company on RFA’s board of directors.
LanzaJet is supported by a broad range of investors and funders, including Airbus, All Nippon Airways, British Airways, LanzaTech, Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, Mitsui & Co., Shell, Southwest Airlines, the U.S. Department of Energy and the UK Department for Transport. The company also has been recognized for its impact by TIME, Fortune, MIT, Reuters, S&P Global and others.
Read more from the RFA here.