ArcelorMittal, LanzaTech announce first ethanol samples from Belgium facility

ArcelorMittal (MT) and LanzaTech (LNZA) announced a next step toward full operation of ArcelorMittal’s commercial flagship carbon capture and utilization, or CCU, facility in Ghent, Belgium. This week saw new progress toward full operation of a commercial scale facility that will capture carbon-rich waste gases from steelmaking and biologically convert them into advanced ethanol through LanzaTech’s bio-based process. Unlike traditional fermentation, the process ferments gases instead of sugars and uses a biocatalyst instead of yeast. The facility was inaugurated in December 2022, with cold commissioning taking place thereafter. The biocatalyst has now been introduced into the facility to begin growth and verify production of new molecules. In May, the first gases from the steel mill’s blast furnace were safely introduced to LanzaTech’s biocatalyst. After a successful inoculation, initial samples that contained ethanol were produced this week, demonstrating that the carbon in the gases is being converted into new chemical products. Commercial-scale ethanol production from the bioreactors will follow, with expected ramp up of production in the coming months. The Steelanol plant has the annual capacity to produce 80M liters of advanced ethanol, around half of the total current demand in Belgium. It expects to reduce carbon emissions from the Ghent plant by 125,000 tons annually, thereby advancing the EU’s 2030 Climate Target Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by the end of the decade. Project partners include Primetals Technologies and E4tech with support from CINEA, the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.