Global Bioenergies has entered into a collaboration agreement that will expand the range of feedstocks for its isobutene process to include non-biomass-derived sources of carbon.
The Paris-listed company has developed a process in which a microorganism can produce isobutene from renewable feedstocks such as industrial-grade or waste-derived sugars. Now, it is looking to use a broader range of feedstocks.
LanzaTech‘s carbon recycling technology enables the bio-based transformation of industrial wastes, such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen, into valuable commodities. For example, waste gases from the steel making process can be captured and recycled into biofuels or chemicals.
Global Bioenergies and LanzaTech have been working together since 2011, aiming to synergize their technologies and build microbial strains capable of converting non-sugar feedstock into isobutene. Based on the results achieved so far, the two companies have signed a new agreement in order to intensify this cooperation and to develop an integrated process.
“The expansion of our synthetic biology portfolio has shown gas fermenting microbes to have the same capabilities as sugar fermenting organisms,” said Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech. “We are now able to produce a variety of chemicals from a broad array of gas feedstocks, driving both economic and environmental benefits.”
Diversification of feedstocks “will be an important asset for the massive deployment of our technology on the mid-term,” added Global Bioenergies CEO Marc Delcourt.
