World’s leading steel company, ArcelorMittal and LanzaTech announce first ethanol samples from commercial flagship carbon capture and utilisation facility in Ghent, Belgium

• €200 million commercial scale CCU plant first of its kind in the European steel industry
• Facility employing LanzaTech’s cutting-edge carbon recycling process couples decarbonization technology with chemical production to advance EU’s 2030 Climate Target Plan and a circular economy

CHICAGO, June 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ArcelorMittal and LanzaTech Global Inc. (Nasdaq: LNZA) today announced a next step toward full operation of ArcelorMittal’s commercial flagship carbon capture and utilisation (‘CCU’) facility in Ghent, Belgium. The €200 million ‘Steelanol’ facility is a first of its kind for the European steel industry, deploying technology developed by leading carbon utilization company LanzaTech.

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 (a process called inoculation) to begin growth and verify production of new molecules.

In May 2023, 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. This advanced ethanol can then be used as a building block to produce a variety of products, including sustainable transport fuels, packaging materials, apparel, and even cosmetic fragrances, hence helping to advance the decarbonization efforts of the global chemical sector. The ethanol will be jointly marketed by ArcelorMittal and LanzaTech under the Carbalyst brand name.

The Steelanol plant has the annual capacity to produce 80 million litres 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 tonnes 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.