Petronas, LanzaTech ink deal to convert waste CO2 into sustainable chemicals

The double-spire of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur

Waste CO2 from Petronas operations will be captured by LanzaTech’s process to create economic routes to acetic acid, and other downstream products.

In Malaysia, LanzaTech and the Malaysian national oil company, Petronas, announced they will work together to accelerate the development and commercialization of technologies to produce sustainable chemicals from carbon dioxide (CO2) and natural gas.

The joint development agreement builds on the relationship between the two companies established earlier this year when Petronas Technology Ventures SdnBhd (PTVSB), the venture arm of Petronas, invested in LanzaTech as part of the company’s Series C round.

LanzaTech’s proprietary fermentation process converts carbon monoxide (CO) in industrial waste gases, reformed natural gas and gas derived from any biomass source, into low carbon fuels and chemicals. LanzaTech and Petronas will work together to extend this technology to include carbon dioxide (CO2) containing gases from a variety of sources including refinery off gases and natural gas wells to produce acetic acid, a high value chemical with applications in the polymers and plastics markets.

The companies react

“Petronas and LanzaTech have the ability to significantly impact the future of carbon capture by fundamentally changing the way we deal with waste CO2,” said LanzaTech CEO, Jennifer Holmgren. “Rather than trying to sequester carbon deep into the earth, we will “bury” it in a chemical. In this way, companies can not only comply with emissions reduction requirements, but also generate revenue along the way.”

“We invested in LanzaTech because we saw an opportunity for PETRONAS to benefit from the integration of LanzaTech’s technology in multiple areas of our business,” said Haida Shenny Hazri, CEO of Petronas Technology Ventures Sdn Bhd. “This is a natural extension of LanzaTech’s core gas fermentation technology and it is a natural fit with Petronas’ commitment to achieving a sustainable future for all.”

We look in more depth at the story in “the Greening of Petronas” – top story today (linked here) in biobased.biofuelsdigest.com.