Scientists agree that we have less than a decade left to determine the future of life on this planet. Carbon is at the center of this climate crisis.
We are witnessing what has been dubbed the “energy transition,” a shift from fossil-based energy supply and consumption to a renewable system. We see it with the rise in solar panels, EVs and wind power; however, our carbon problem isn’t just rooted in the resources we use for electricity. Carbon is embedded in the building blocks of our everyday products and is also essential to produce sustainable aviation fuels. Where we source this carbon is the true determining factor of our climate future. Today we have technology for recycling the carbon and CO2 that is already present above ground to make everything we need in a circular carbon economy. Combining carbon recycling technology with other paradigm-shifting solutions presents an opportunity to redesign the entire system of how we use carbon to create value and equity for all. With a rapidly narrowing window to change the trajectory of our climate, society has an imperative to advance social and environmental goals with business models that align economics with the planet.
THE CASE FOR WASTE CARBON
We can make use of carbon that is already above the ground by reusing it again and again in a circular system. Carbon that is found in waste streams from industry, society, and agriculture—and even the CO2 accumulating in our atmosphere and causing the climate crisis—is usable, good carbon.
Though traditionally considered a liability, we see this “good carbon” as an abundant, untapped resource. Found in almost every geography, it is readily available, low cost and point sourced. And it’s inherently distributed, making it the ideal raw material for communities around the world to produce the things they need.
Today’s energy paradigm is based on centralized, large-scale refineries that concentrate production in a few singular places to supply the entire planet. At that, these centralized points of production are often located in climate vulnerable locations. Truly committing to an equitable energy transition means replacing that paradigm with a new distributed, circular system that relies on waste as a feedstock to make all the things we need.
A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM IS A RESILIENT SYSTEM
A balanced system is a resilient system. The natural world long ago evolved a balanced system for recycling and regenerating carbon as a building block across different geographies and ecosystems. We can do the same by recycling locally available inputs to make the products we need while creating new jobs in the process. Decentralized production embeds resilience in a global system, taking advantage of redundancy to withstand disruptions in each region and buffering the most vulnerable areas from the impacts of climate change.
CASE STUDY: COMMERCIAL CARBON RECYCLING AT LANZATECH
I run a company called LanzaTech that has commercialized carbon recycling utilizing this distributed manufacturing model. With six carbon recycling facilities anticipated to be in full operation by the end of 2023, the company’s carbon capture and utilization technology will be able to prevent 500,000 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere annually by transforming it into raw materials. Today, facilities deploying LanzaTech’s technology are located on three different continents and utilize carbon from an array of sources, ranging from steel mill emissions to agricultural waste. We are doing this not by the traditional technology paradigm of “scaling up” large singular facilities but by “numbering up” smaller, efficient facilities around the world. This strategy enables local execution on a global scale and translates into the production of locally sourced raw materials so that every country can secure its own domestic supply chain.
Such a solution can be deployed around the world at sites where pollution occurs, including in developing nations where wastes and residues could be transformed into an economic opportunity. Using a licensing model, distributed networks utilizing this carbon recycling technology can be built to enable emitters to capture and transform their pollution into sustainable fuels and materials. A licensing model allows more geographies to execute on projects, get steel in the ground and start producing non-fossil materials for a new circular carbon economy.
We designed LanzaTech’s numbering up strategy to intake a variety of carbon-based waste streams to provide impactful waste management solutions in tandem with local economic benefits. In India, for example, we have formed critical partnerships with national organizations such as the DBT-IOC Centre for Advanced Bio-Energy Research and IndianOil Corporation Limited to utilize refinery emissions as well as with local organizations for transforming agricultural waste that would otherwise be burned into new raw materials.
Not only do we work with organizations that have “good carbon” but also, we work downstream on applications for recycled carbon. We have created some of the first value chains for a circular economy built on carbon recycling. Our partners Zara, H&M Move and adidas have designed and sold apparel collections with textiles made from steel mill emissions in China; COTY released the world’s first fragrance made with 100% ethanol derived from industrial emissions under the Gucci brand; and with Plastipak, emissions-derived PET packaging is being used in drinks bottles in Germany with dm and for cleaning product packaging with Mibelle and Migros in Switzerland.
In addition to material goods, recycled carbon can be incorporated into the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Carbon capture and utilization technologies can transform waste into ethanol, which, in turn, can be made into sustainable aviation fuel. In 2018, we teamed up with Virgin Atlantic on the world’s first commercial flight using our sustainable aviation fuel for a trip from Orlando to Gatwick.
CONCLUSION
Carbon is an essential global resource but how we treat it will determine our planet’s future. We believe the commercial adoption of carbon recycling technology across geographies and industries underpins the successful transition to a circular carbon economy. This technology is ready today, and we must rapidly deploy it around the globe. By providing a path to create value from carbon-rich waste streams, we can incentivize the elimination of pollution, revitalize local economies, and build global resilience for the manufacture of our everyday needs. Embracing distributed systems means shifting our energy model from large centralized production models to distributed local system and doing better for our planet today and well into the future.
