ArcelorMittal, LanzaTech and Primetals Technologies partner for €87m biofuel plant

Carbon recycling company LanzaTech has entered into a letter of intent with steel and mining company ArcelorMittal, and Primetals Technologies, a technology and service provider to the iron and steel industry, for the construction of Europe's first-ever commercial scale production facility to produce bioethanol from waste gases generated during the steelmaking process.

The resulting bioethanol can cut greenhouse gas emissions by over 80% compared with conventional fossil fuels. It will predominantly be used in petrol blending, but it can also be further processed into other products such as drop in jet fuel.

The 47,000 tonne per year ethanol project, sufficient to fuel 500,000 cars with ethanol blended petrol, will demonstrate the added value of recycling waste streams, not only by reducing emissions at source, hence reducing ArcelorMittal's direct carbon footprint, but by keeping fossil fuels in the ground through the production of commodity chemicals and fuels that would otherwise be made from oil.

Approximately 50% of the carbon used in the chemistry of steelmaking leaves the process as carbon monoxide. Today, this waste gas stream is either flared or used to heat and power the steel mill. In either case, the carbon monoxide is combusted and the resulting CO2 is emitted. LanzaTech's technology, however, recycles the waste gases and ferments them with a proprietary microbe to produce bioethanol. Every tonne of bioethanol produced displaces 5.2 barrels of petrol as well as reducing ArcelorMittal's CO2 emissions by 2.3 tonnes.

Construction of the €87 million flagship pilot project, which will be located at ArcelorMittal's steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, is anticipated to commence later this year, with bioethanol production expected to start mid-2017. Construction will be in two phases, with phase one providing an initial capacity of 16,000 tonnes of ethanol per annum by mid-2017 and phase two, which will be completed in 2018, bringing the total capacity to 47,000 tonnes of ethanol per annum.

ArcelorMittal, which has been working on this project since 2011, has signed a long-term partnership agreement with LanzaTech. Hence, once construction of the Ghent flagship plant is complete and the commercial viability of the project is proven, the intention is to construct further plants across ArcelorMittal's operations. If scaled up to its full potential in Europe, the technology could enable the production of around 500,000 tonnes a year of bioethanol.

'This partnership is an example of how we are looking at all potential opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions and support a transition to a lower carbon economy,' says Carl De Maré, VP of innovation at ArcelorMittal. 'Steel is produced through a chemical process that results in high levels of waste gases being emitted; this new technology will enable us to convert some of these waste gases into fuels that deliver significant environmental benefits when compared to conventional fossil fuels. It is a further example of why our carbon footprint should be viewed on a life cycle analysis basis, given steel is 100% recyclable and the material impact we make on reducing the carbon footprint of our customers through product innovation.'

As the production of bioethanol is a new activity, ArcelorMittal intends to set up a dedicated company for the roll out of this technology with strategic financial partners. Financing will be sought from a number of different sources. A total of €10.2 million has been secured under the EU's 2020 Horizon programme for research and development and talks are currently taking place with potential equity and debt partners.

Primetals Technologies will be responsible for part of the engineering, automation, key equipment and commissioning.