The term “decarbonization” has been around since the 1800s, but in the last two decades, it has become a rallying cry for scientists and activists seeking ways to slow climate change.
Efforts to decarbonize the economy focus on limiting or ending the production of fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal, which generate 37 billion tonnes of planet-warming carbon-rich gases each year.
However, most people are unaware of the extent to which our societies rely on fossil-based carbon. Carbon is a primary chemical component in the makeup of all living things. It’s a key ingredient in the threads in our clothes, the building materials in our homes and the fuel we use to power vehicles. It’s the basis of household cleaning solutions, personal care products, and medical plastics that keep healthcare workers and their patients safe from contamination. All of these products are typically derived from virgin fossil carbon, a non-renewable resource extracted from deep underground.
A decarbonization reality check
While power can be carbon-free thanks to advances in renewable energy, everyday products like textiles, packaging and consumer goods need carbon. There are initiatives to replace carbon-based ingredients with more environmentally-friendly materials, but many companies have found that’s easier said than done. While business leaders across industries struggle to find alternatives, our existing global supply chains continue to generate billions of tonnes of carbon emissions every year. This exacerbates the climate-related dangers we’re already facing around the world, such as extreme heat, unhealthy air quality and more powerful storms. Innovators around the world are exploring ways to capture and remove excess carbon from the atmosphere, but their technologies don’t go far enough, or fast enough.
While we should continue aiming to decarbonize energy-intensive industries that contribute the greatest share of greenhouse gas emissions, we must also come to terms with the fact that our way of life is built on carbon. [1]
The problem we face is less about immediately ending the use of carbon, and more about how we source the carbon we need to create everyday products. Instead of pulling more virgin fossil carbon from the ground to make things we throw away, we can recirculate the gigatons of carbon-rich gases that already exist above ground to create a circular carbon economy. [2]
At LanzaTech, we’re making this vision a reality by recycling carbon with biology.
Reinventing the carbon economy
Using a technology process we call biorecycling, LanzaTech captures and processes multiple forms of waste carbon before they can enter the atmosphere and cause harm. Emissions sources like steel mills and landfill sites can attach our bioreactors to their facilities, which then act similar to a brewery. Instead of using yeast to convert sugar into beer, proprietary microbes convert carbon-rich gases into essential raw materials like ethanol, a primary ingredient in fuels and a range of everyday consumer goods. This process allows us to create value from waste. LanzaTech’s end goal is to recycle carbon that is already above ground, and continually reuse it.
Reducing emissions is the world’s most urgent priority on the road to net zero by 2050. By offering a solution for both carbon generators and carbon users, we’re paving the way for a circular model that reduces emissions across the entire value chain. Energy-intensive industries license LanzaTech’s carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology to create new revenue streams from a liability, and accelerate the long-term transition to more climate-friendly business models. At the same time, the raw materials made from our recycled carbon allow brands to reduce supply chain emissions and respond to growing consumer demand for more sustainable products. As emissions levels come down, innovators can focus more attention on addressing the second half of the circular carbon economy equation: how we handle the end-of-life for the products we create from recycled carbon.
Proven impact
LanzaTech has proven that our commercial-scale biorecycling approach can play a pivotal role in keeping our planet livable for the long term. To date, our technology has prevented more than 380,000 tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere across six commercial plants. As of the end of 2023, our biorecycling technology is installed at six commercial plants and has the capacity to abate 500,000 tonnes per year. [3] [4]
With dozens more projects in the pipeline, LanzaTech is helping global companies like Zara, H&M Move, and Coty use recycled carbon to make sustainable consumer products, while preventing industrial emissions from polluting our skies. This is a critical bridge for industry that makes an immediate impact on emissions, rather than waiting for a silver bullet.
How far we can go together
Humans will always produce waste carbon. To protect life on Earth, we must both reduce the use of virgin fossil carbon, and view the gigatons of carbon-rich gases humanity has already released into the atmosphere as a resource, not just a liability. If we can work together to reimagine our extractive, linear systems as a circular model, we can create a more sustainable future for everyone. [5] We can offer a practical, profitable way for energy-intensive industries to transition their operations and create new jobs. We can take the unfair blame off of everyday consumers by giving them better choices when they shop[6] , and make use of the products we discard in landfills. We can give countries a new domestic resource to tap into and make quicker progress toward our global climate goals.
Humanity’s window to avoid climate catastrophe is closing rapidly. If you’d like to be part of our circular solution, get in touch at https://lanzatech.com/contact/.
