Technip Energies awarded FEED contract for LanzaTech UK’s DRAGON sustainable aviation fuel project

Technip Energies announced April 12 the award of a contract for the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase of LanzaTech’s DRAGON sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project based on LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technology.

The DRAGON acronym stands for decarbonizing and reimagining aviation for the goal of net zero.

The project is on track to be one of the first commercial SAF facilities in the U.K.

Under a U.K. government mandate, SAF must comprise the equivalent to at least 10 percent of jet fuel by 2030.

The DRAGON project has been awarded supplemental funding through the U.K. Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuel Fund to help decarbonize aviation fuel in the U.K.

The flagship facility, to be located in Port Talbot, Wales, will uniquely use feedstock (ethanol) derived from local waste sources, bringing circularity to the project’s green credentials.

The development, which is expected to produce 79,000 metric tons (26.4 million gallons) per year of SAF, will deploy LanzaJet’s proprietary ATJ technology.

Technip Energies’ proprietary Hummingbird® technology has been selected for the ethanol-to-ethylene conversion, which is the first step of the LanzaJet ATJ process.

Once in production, the plant will produce substantial quantities of low carbon-intensity SAF to help the U.K. realize its net-zero ambitions at an accelerated pace.

The technology also will produce 2.64 million gallons per year of low carbon-intensity renewable diesel as a valuable coproduct.

This project follows a similar ATJ project being constructed in the U.S., LanzaJet’s Freedom Pines Fuels ATJ unit scaled at 10 million gallons per year and expected to come online by the end of this year.

The U.S. project also includes Technip Energies’ proprietary Hummingbird® technology on the front end, and will be its first commercial plant, and the world’s first ATJ unit.

In April 2022, Technip Energies’ U.K. operating center successfully completed the inside battery limits (ISBL) FEED assessment for the project and has now been tasked with executing the consolidated FEED package for the full facility.

Technip Energies’ main aim is to develop an execution-ready FEED package in order to move the project forward efficiently into the next phase of development.

Technip Energies has proven capabilities and expertise in engineering, technology and sustainable chemicals, spanning 60-plus years.

Its Hummingbird® technology produces bioethylene from a variety of ethanol feedstocks, derived from diverse sustainable sources including via the fermentation of industrial waste gases.

Unlike traditional “grey” ethylene production, the Hummingbird® process does not necessitate the steam cracking of fossil fuels.

The Hummingbird® technology within the LanzaJet ATJ solution provides a best-in-class route to producing SAF via ethanol.

“We are delighted to be participating in this next FEED phase towards developing the DRAGON project’s ATJ unit to service the U.K. aviation industry,” said Bhaskar Patel, an executive at Technip Energies. “As a sustainable chemical process, one of the four pillars of the energy-transition framework of Technip Energies, this first commercial application of the Hummingbird® technology with LanzaTech and LanzaJet provides a great opportunity to demonstrate the many advantages that it brings.”

Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, said, “Sustainably sourced ethanol, from a variety of waste-based resources, is an ideal substrate for the production of sustainable fuels and chemical building blocks. The Hummingbird® technology presents a carbon-efficient pathway to SAF via the LanzaJet ATJ process. Hard-to-abate sectors like aviation need all available solutions to support emissions reductions and I am delighted that LanzaTech, LanzaJet and Technip Energies can play a part.”