News: 14 July 08
‘Low-carbon petrol’ project could lead to big biofuels switch in NZ’s car fleet
Innovative biofuels developer LanzaTech has been awarded $12 million to develop a second-generation “low-carbon petrol” biofuel from industrial flue gas waste that could be used successfully to reduce petrol use in New Zealand’s large fleet of imported used Japanese cars.
The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology has approved the three-year investment in LanzaTech in the first major contract awarded under the Low Carbon Energy Technologies fund announced in 2007.
It is one of the 96 contestable research projects announced today in the Foundation’s main 2008 Investment Round.
“This is one of the most exciting projects of its kind we have invested in, with great potential to reduce our carbon emissions,” says Foundation chief executive Murray Bain.
“Many older New Zealand cars are second-hand imports from Japan that cannot run successfully on petrol blended with more than three per cent ethanol, and many newer cars cannot run on ethanol blends above 10 per cent.
“LanzaTech’s proposal is to produce fuel from industrial gas waste that has the potential to replace up to 90 per cent of petrol without infrastructure changes or engine damage.”
LanzaTech New Zealand Ltd is a private Auckland company formed in 2005 to develop technology to produce low-cost transport ethanol from industrial waste gases and other waste resources.
“New Zealanders are great innovators and LanzaTech is a great example of this. Through the development of pioneering technologies the company is addressing both a local and global need for low cost sustainable fuels,” says Stephen Tindall – an early stage investor in LanzaTech.
“LanzaTech sees enormous global potential in developing proprietary technologies to produce fuel from non-food waste resources that are produced in high volumes and are readily available today,” says Dr Sean Simpson, founder and chief scientist of LanzaTech.
The Foundation has invested smaller amounts from its TechNZ suite twice before in LanzaTech, but this investment of $4 million a year for three years is a major step upwards and is designed to help the company bring its technology closer to commercial operation.
A pilot plant design has been developed that will allow ethanol production to be demonstrated at scale over the next 12 months.
Ethanol is the only commercially available biofuel that can be blended with petrol, but it has a lower energy density than petrol, which reduces the distance a vehicle can travel on a tankful, and it can only be used in low blends in existing vehicle fleets.
LanzaTech's solution is to produce higher energy density biofuels that can be safely blended with petrol up to at least 90 per cent.
“The introduction of low carbon transport fuels is an important route to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Ethanol is a first generation biofuel and a great place to start, but LanzaTech see an opportunity to develop technologies to produce fuels that are more similar to petrol in terms of their handling and performance,” said Dr Simpson.
The contract announced today will enable LanzaTech to develop and scale up to an investor-ready stage a commercially viable process for producing low carbon petrol, a high energy density, second generation biofuel.
The earlier Foundation investment enabled the company to establish itself as a technology leader, attracting a substantial shareholding from an investor consortium led by Silicon Valley based Khosla Ventures.
“The use of waste resources for fuel production is an excellent way to produce sustainable transport fuels at low cost. This award to LanzaTech affirms New Zealand’s commitment to solving the climate crisis and finding alternatives to oil through cutting edge research,” says Vinod Khosla, Founder of Khosla Ventures.
Murray Bain said the Low Carbon Energy Technologies fund seeks to assist public and private organisations that have completed basic research and have demonstrated the potential of a new technology to move through the pilot/demonstration plant stage.
“Largely due to climate change concerns, hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on biofuels research internationally. We are delighted to be investing in such innovative technology developed right here in New Zealand,” he said.
The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology has approved the three-year investment in LanzaTech in the first major contract awarded under the Low Carbon Energy Technologies fund announced in 2007.
It is one of the 96 contestable research projects announced today in the Foundation’s main 2008 Investment Round.
“This is one of the most exciting projects of its kind we have invested in, with great potential to reduce our carbon emissions,” says Foundation chief executive Murray Bain.
“Many older New Zealand cars are second-hand imports from Japan that cannot run successfully on petrol blended with more than three per cent ethanol, and many newer cars cannot run on ethanol blends above 10 per cent.
“LanzaTech’s proposal is to produce fuel from industrial gas waste that has the potential to replace up to 90 per cent of petrol without infrastructure changes or engine damage.”
LanzaTech New Zealand Ltd is a private Auckland company formed in 2005 to develop technology to produce low-cost transport ethanol from industrial waste gases and other waste resources.
“New Zealanders are great innovators and LanzaTech is a great example of this. Through the development of pioneering technologies the company is addressing both a local and global need for low cost sustainable fuels,” says Stephen Tindall – an early stage investor in LanzaTech.
“LanzaTech sees enormous global potential in developing proprietary technologies to produce fuel from non-food waste resources that are produced in high volumes and are readily available today,” says Dr Sean Simpson, founder and chief scientist of LanzaTech.
The Foundation has invested smaller amounts from its TechNZ suite twice before in LanzaTech, but this investment of $4 million a year for three years is a major step upwards and is designed to help the company bring its technology closer to commercial operation.
A pilot plant design has been developed that will allow ethanol production to be demonstrated at scale over the next 12 months.
Ethanol is the only commercially available biofuel that can be blended with petrol, but it has a lower energy density than petrol, which reduces the distance a vehicle can travel on a tankful, and it can only be used in low blends in existing vehicle fleets.
LanzaTech's solution is to produce higher energy density biofuels that can be safely blended with petrol up to at least 90 per cent.
“The introduction of low carbon transport fuels is an important route to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Ethanol is a first generation biofuel and a great place to start, but LanzaTech see an opportunity to develop technologies to produce fuels that are more similar to petrol in terms of their handling and performance,” said Dr Simpson.
The contract announced today will enable LanzaTech to develop and scale up to an investor-ready stage a commercially viable process for producing low carbon petrol, a high energy density, second generation biofuel.
The earlier Foundation investment enabled the company to establish itself as a technology leader, attracting a substantial shareholding from an investor consortium led by Silicon Valley based Khosla Ventures.
“The use of waste resources for fuel production is an excellent way to produce sustainable transport fuels at low cost. This award to LanzaTech affirms New Zealand’s commitment to solving the climate crisis and finding alternatives to oil through cutting edge research,” says Vinod Khosla, Founder of Khosla Ventures.
Murray Bain said the Low Carbon Energy Technologies fund seeks to assist public and private organisations that have completed basic research and have demonstrated the potential of a new technology to move through the pilot/demonstration plant stage.
“Largely due to climate change concerns, hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on biofuels research internationally. We are delighted to be investing in such innovative technology developed right here in New Zealand,” he said.