A New Zealand clean energy company has been included on the Cleantech 100 list of companies in the sector most likely to make the most significant market impact over the next five to 10 years.
LanzaTech, founded in Auckland in 2005, has been listed because it is due to test its technology in Shanghai with Chinese steel company Baosteel, The Guardian newspaper reported in London.
LanzaTech has developed a process to capture the carbon monoxide emissions from low-hydrogen waste gases at steel mills and use it as a feedstock for bacteria to create biofuels which can then be used to power vehicles.
The company has estimated that its bacteria-based approach could produce 50 billion gallons of ethanol from carbon monoxide emissions from the world’s steel mills alone, turning the liability of carbon emissions into valuable fuels worth over $NZ50 billion ($A38.43 billion) per year at low costs, and adding value to the steel industry.
The technology could also be a key contributor to the cellulosic biofuels business, as it shows promise for being able to convert syngas produced through gasification into ethanol, the company claimed.
LanzaTech competed against nominations for 4615 other independent, for-profit, cleantech companies not listed on any major stock exchange.
Separately, two of the company’s leaders have been named among the “Top 100 People in Bioenergy” — a list compiled by industry journal Biofuels Digest.
LanzaTech cofounder and chief scientist Dr Sean Simpson and chief executive Dr Jennifer Holmgren were listed at number 38, among prominent executives, researchers, venture capitalists and politicians in the sector.
Vinod Khosla, the venture capitalist who was an early investor in LanzaTech, was named at number 16 in the list.
In addition to Baosteel, LanzaTech has a collaboration with coal giant Henan Coal and Chemicals as well as a research agreement with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Last month LanzaTech revealed it had successfully produced 2,3-Butanediol (2,3-BD), a key building block used to make polymers, plastics and even hydrocarbon fuels like jet fuel, using the company’s gas fermentation technology.
