Innovation lies at the core of sustainable economic growth, job creation, and solving some of our world’s most significant challenges. Patents are designed to encourage this ongoing discovery.
Today, LanzaTech announced that it secured its 1,000th patent. A leader in the production of climate-friendly and sustainable products, through its disruptive and patented technology, LanzaTech captures waste carbon emissions (such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide produced in steel manufacturing) and converts it into fuels, chemicals and everyday goods, that would otherwise come from fossil resources. For a company that was established just 16 years ago, securing 1,000 patents is a notable achievement.
Each of the patents they received contributes to a platform that enables the use of gas feedstocks for the production of a large variety of sustainable fuels, chemicals, and products today, with an eye to covering the use of the feedstocks of the future, as countries and industries begin their own energy transitions. For example, Unilever, introduced Omo laundry pods to the Chinese market made from carbon emissions, British Airways announced it would start to use sustainable jet fuel made from carbon emissions and Coty, a global beauty market leader, recently announced that they would soon make their fragrance with ethanol produced from captured emissions.
“The patents created by LanzaTech transform a waste stream and a liability to a valuable feedstock to enabling the circular carbon economy,” said Jennifer Holmgren, Chief Executive Officer of LanzaTech. Holmgren recently received The Edison Achievement Award for her leadership and achievements in making a significant and lasting contribution to the world of innovation. The Edison Awards also awarded LanzaTech's “CarbonSmart™ for a Blue-Sky Future” its' Science Game Changer award.
This future has been made possible through the collaborative efforts of a multi-disciplinary team including investors, partners and supporters across the globe. From the early days of the company, when people thought the idea was impossible, LanzaTech has had patient champions and investors who believed in LanzaTech’s disruptive platform.
With an approach that developed and scaled all aspects of their technology in parallel, LanzaTech’s cross-disciplinary collaboration has been core to making each invention successful.
LanzaTech’s patented gas fermentation technology has stopped over 100,000 tons of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere. That is equivalent to over 250 million miles driven by an average passenger vehicle.
“With the flexibility of our patented technology, we are disrupting chemical supply chains and our current energy paradigm. We must develop the technology to support global climate and energy commitments by enabling capture and reuse of waste carbon so we can keep fresh fossil resources in the ground,” said Holmgren. “Our progress would not have been possible without a dedicated team to work with and stand behind. I am proud of what we have accomplished, and I am looking forward to advancing our technology to help bend the carbon curve.”
To celebrate 1,000 patents, LanzaTech collaborated with Sketchbook Brewery, a local Brewery in Skokie, Illinois, to craft a commemorative IPA. LanzaTech's gas fermentation scientists and engineers worked with Sketchbook to craft "IPAwesome," named after the intellectual property (IP) created to recycle carbon.
With team members helping create the recipe, the name, the label and helping with the canning at the brewery, this effort personified the last 15 years of collaboration and teamwork in getting to this 1000 granted patent milestone.
Similar to the previous collaboration with Sketchbook Brewery to commemorate one of LanzaTech's commercial plants reaching 150 days of continuous operation with production at the site exceeding 20M gallons of ethanol since startup, with the creation of "The 150” made with New Zealand Hops, LanzaTech team members helped with the creation of the beer, including selecting the flavors for "IPAwesome." The beer is described as "A patently delicious IPA with an intellectual blend of citrus flavors." As noted on the back of the can, Innovation can change the world into a better place, and 1,000 patents secured tastes excellent.
