ASTANA – During his business visit on Aug. 5-7 to the United States, Askhat Khassenov, KazMunayGas (KMG) national oil and gas company chairman, signed a memorandum of cooperation with Jimmy Samartzis, CEO of the United States technology company LanzaJet, to produce environmentally sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Kazakhstan.
Askhat Khassenov with Jimmy Samartzis. Photo credit: kmg.kz
As stated by KMG’s press service, Khassenov visited LanzaTech’s laboratory in Chicago. There, he highlighted KMG’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by 15% by 2031 compared to 2019 levels, noting that the development of the biofuels market in Kazakhstan will support the country’s goal of carbon neutrality.
“Currently, the global demand for SAF is increasing. Accordingly, our company is considering SAF production in Kazakhstan,” he said.
Samartzis emphasized the importance of Kazakhstan’s initial steps towards producing environmentally friendly jet fuel and assured full technological support from LanzaJet.
LanzaJet specializes in converting ethanol to jet fuel (“ethanol-to-jet” or “alcohol-to-jet”) and has established long-term off-take agreements with major airlines. In January, the company launched the world’s first commercial-scale plant, Freedom Pines Fuels, for SAF production from ethanol.
