Published September 14, 2012
Dow Jones Newswires
Bioscience startup LanzaTech NZ Ltd. is seeking technology partners to
convert steel industry waste into jet fuel for airplanes, Chief
Executive Officer Jennifer Holmgren told Dow Jones Newswires from China
Friday.
LanzaTech, which was awarded the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer Award 2013 recently, has developed a technology to convert carbon monoxide emitted by steel mills into ethanol.
The company's joint venture with BaoSteel Group Corp. in China will likely start commercial production of ethanol in early 2014 from its Shanghai plant.
"The conversion of ethanol into jet fuel is a different technology than ours. So, we will be using a conversion partner," Dr. Holmgren said, adding that the partner will be bringing in only technology.
Swedish Biofuels, which partners with LanzaTech for producing aviation fuels in the U.S, may do so in China too, but LanzaTech is also in talks with other companies, she said.
In India, the company is close to identifying a site for a building a plant to produce ethanol from steel waste. It plans to use carbon monoxide from Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. (532286.BY) and has inked a pact to sell the ethanol produced to state-run Indian Oil Corp. (530965.BY), Dr. Holmgren said.
Commercial production will likely begin in 2015, she added.
The capacity will depend partly on the amount of carbon monoxide Jindal Steel is able to supply.
U.S.-based Khosla Ventures, Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund and China's Qiming Ventures have invested in LanzaTech. Khosla Ventures holds around 50% stake in the company.
The company, which raised US$55.8 million last year, is looking to raise more cash and the plan will likely be firmed up in the next few months, she said.
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Write to Arpan Mukherjee at arpan.mukherjee@wsj.com
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