Beijing Shougang LanzaTech New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. a joint-venture with US-headed carbon recycler LanzaTech Inc, Chinese iron and steel major Shougang Group Co. Ltd, Mitsui Co., Ltd, Tangshan Caofeidian Beijing-Hebei Cooperation Green Industry Investment FUND, Shanghai Dehui Group Co., Ltd and its New Zealand partner TangMing Group (Wellington) Investment Ltd have announced that its first commercial ethanol facility has earned Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) certification.
The facility, which is located at the Jingtang Steel Mill in Caofeidian in Hebei Province and utilizes LanzaTech proprietary technology, is the only commercial RSB-certified facility in China, and the first of its kind anywhere to receive this key certification for carbon capture and utilization (CCU) under the RSB Global Advanced Products Standard.
According to LanzaTech, achieving RSB certification – globally recognized as the most robust approach to sustainability for the bio-based and circular economy – the ethanol plant demonstrates that it is making real, measurable positive impacts and shows the joint venture’s continued commitment to environmental improvements.
The newly certified carbon recycling facility contributes to the circular economy by converting waste carbon emissions from steelmaking into sustainable, advanced products that avoid fresh fossil inputs in the supply chain. The facility demonstrates compliance with RSB’s robust social and environmental sustainability requirements while reducing overall climate impact.
RSB certification means that consumers can trust that products made from ethanol from our facility are being sourced responsibly, that our industrial process isn’t causing air or water pollution, that we are taking care of the people and community in which we operate, and that our operations are able to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the realization of a circular bioeconomy, said Dr Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech.
Used for fuel and products
Operational since May 2018, the facility has produced over 20 million (US) gallons (≈ 60 000 tonnes) of ethanol from recycled steel mill emissions, avoiding the equivalent of over 100 000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).
The ethanol from this facility has been used as a road transport fuel and as a household cleaner, as well as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using the alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) pathway. The ethanol has also been converted to packaging for consumer goods and will be used for textile production in 2021.
SCS Global Services (SCS), a leading global provider of third-party environmental and sustainability certification, auditing, testing, and standards development for nearly 30 years conducted the audit of the site and certified the demonstration of a management system compliant with the requirements of the RSB Global Advanced Products certification scheme.
We have been working alongside LanzaTech for almost a decade and are continually impressed by their commitment to sustainability – it truly runs in their DNA. This new certification is a further demonstration of that fact and RSB is pleased to offer a solution to help show that this facility is offering powerful benefits to people and the planet. From the sustainability of their production to greenhouse gas emissions reductions and the displacement of fossil resources, this certificate shows that LanzaTech is going beyond the idea of ‘do no harm’ to create real, measurable positive impacts, said Rolf Hogan, Executive Director at RSB.
