Bio-Fuel Project Could Slash Fuel Consumption
July 17th, 2008
An Auckland bio-fuel company believes its plans to develop a new bio-fuel made from waste gas expelled from industrial chimneys could slash the country’s petrol consumption by 90%. LanzaTech is testing a way of capturing industrial emissions and turning them into a high-energy alternative fuel through a fermentation process. “It would look like a brewery next to a steel factory,” says LanzaTech founder, Sean Simpson. Any industry producing carbon monoxide and hydrogen emissions will be suitable for the process. The fuel could be mixed with petrol in a 90% bio-fuel blend, cutting reliance on traditional oil derived fuels.
Govt Backing. The company has heavyweight private sector financial backing from Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla and has received another financial boost this week with a $12m cash injection from the Govt through its Foundation for Research, Science and Technology funding programme. Foundation CEO, Murray Bain, says the bio-fuel will not require changes to existing fuel distribution infrastructure. “This is one of the most exciting projects of its kind we have invested in.” Simpson adds there is huge global potential in making fuel from waste gases, which are already being produced in big volumes and going to waste. “We’re not taking food resources. I know that’s something people are very concerned about.”
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