Disrupting the global supply chain starts with changing how we make the chemicals that are the building blocks for everything we use daily.

Ethylene is one of the largest commodity chemicals used today and is the precursor to most things we use in our daily lives. But it is primarily produced from fossil inputs (petroleum or natural gas) and at a tremendous cost, accelerating the climate crisis.

 

Today LanzaTech announced it has successfully engineered specialized biocatalysts to directly produce ethylene from CO2 in a continuous process, thereby avoiding the use of petroleum or natural gas. 

 

 

Why is this important?

 

  • Ethylene is a building block for thousands of chemicals and materials and is necessary to make many of the plastics, detergents, and coatings that keep hospitals sterile, people safe, and food fresh.

  • Its production process is also one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions in the chemical industry and remains one of its most challenging processes to decarbonize.

  • Around 160 million tons of ethylene are produced annually in a global market estimated at approximately $125 billion in 2022.

  • By showing that we can recycle waste carbon resources back to ethylene directly for use in the production of everything else, we offer a lower carbon intensity path possible for producing this vital commodity chemical.

  • This breakthrough in bacterium bio-engineering from LanzaTech represents a potential source of advancement toward our mission of replacing fossil-based feedstocks used in the manufacture of everyday consumer goods with waste carbon.

 

 Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, said,

 

"Ethylene production is one of the three largest carbon emitters in the chemical industry. Now is the time to break free from relying on virgin fossil inputs as feedstock for the things we use in our daily lives. With the ability to directly produce this bulk chemical commodity, we aim to make synthetic biology accessible and bring it to the people in everyday consumer goods. This is not a specialty chemical or a niche market. Instead, it is something that we believe will significantly impact the lives of billions of people daily, no matter how much you earn or where you live.

 

Daniel Cherrin

DANIEL CHERRIN |served the City of Detroit as its Communications Director and the Press Secretary to Detroit Mayor, Ken Cockrel, Jr. He is a public relations + affairs specialist who just happens to be a lawyer, with 20 years of experience providing senior public relations and government relations’ counsel to organizations on state and federal regulatory and legislative matters, as well as issues affecting corporate and individual reputation, crisis management and the media. Daniel is the founder of NORTH COAST STRATEGIES (Est. 2005) an independent public relations consultancy that combines the best of a big agency with hands-on executive-level experience and support. As a signatory company to the United Nations Global Compact, we are dedicated to addressing issues around human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption. We are also focused on redefining your brand and changing the conversation to create an impact.