Wellington
The Auckland-based, globally-oriented LanzaTech doesn'tmiss a trick when it come to publicity as it hugely increases the explosive growth of its gasfermentation technology.
The use of its proprietary bacteria that convert steel mill flue gases (among others) to usefulproducts such as ethanol, has already seen it sign up Chinese, Korean and Japanese partners in coal,steel and engineering collaborations.
It has taken the opportunity of the current visit of New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to Indiato announce yet another deal in the sub-continent. This one is with
There's some pretty impressive management obviously happening behind the scenes with LanzaTech.Its founder Dr Sean Simpson and USA-based CEO Jennifer Holgrem have a tiger by the tail as itsmulti-projects are developed across Asia.
At the recent Paris Air Show, LanzaTech also welcomed airline decisions to use another of itsbacterially created feedstocks - 2,3-Butanediol (2,3-BDO).
The company is backed by venture capitalists such as Khosla Ventures of California, as well asStephen Tindall's K1W1.
Undoubtedly the deep connections and contacts of these investors is being heavily leveraged asLanzaTech announces collaborative partnerships seemingly every week.
Apart from the Glenbrook steel mill pilot project, the company is yet to bring a major scaleplant into production. It is using its partners' engineering and construction expertise to employits proprietary fermentation skills - which is the only way it could possibly manage the financialand logistic ramping up it is currently undergoing.
There's no shortage of industrial smoke stacks around the world, and therefore no shortage of the'free' waste and polluting gases for its technology to convert.
So, if so far LanzaTech's expansion has been a wide ride; the promise is we ain't seen nothingyet - providing it can maintain control of the tiger!