On November 8, the groundbreaking ceremony for the project of anhydrous ethanol biosynthesis from CO2-containing industrial tail gas, which is independently developed by Beijing Shougang LanzaTech Technology Co., Ltd. (“Shougang LangzeTech”) was held at its production base, Hebei Shoulang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. ("Hebei Shoulang”) in Caofeidian District, Tangshan City, Hebei Province. The project was selected into the first batch of demonstration projects featuring advanced green and low-carbon technologies by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and is the world's first 10,000-ton demonstration project that uses biological fermentation technology to synthesize anhydrous ethanol from CO2-containing industrial tail gas.

By virtue of Shougang LanzaTech's gas continuous biological fermentation technology, the facility is reported as being able to produce anhydrous ethanol and new feed protein through gas pretreatment, fermentation, distillation and dehydration of coke oven gas and converter gas containing CO2 from Shougang Jingtang. Once completed, it is set to produce 15,000 tons of anhydrous ethanol, 750 tons of protein feed, and 2 million cubic meters of biogas per year, with annual sales revenue expected to reach CNY 120 million.

In recent years, with the support of Shougang Group, Shougang Jingtang and all relevant parties, Shougang LanzaTech has been committed to promoting green, high-quality and sustainable development while adhering to the principle of "one leadership and two integrations". Based on the innovation system featuring "strain research-pilot-scale experiment-commercial application-industrial promotion”, it has solved multiple technical challenges and successfully linked up working process within the entire system, achieving major breakthroughs in recycling and large-scale use of CO2. With that, Shougang LanzaTech has further consolidated its leading position in the fields of biomanufacturing and CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage technology).

Changing industrial tail gas into valuable resources brings significant carbon reduction benefits and broad market prospects, allowing a direct consumption of about 0.5 tons of CO2 in the production of 1 ton of ethanol, which is in line with the national "dual carbon" strategy. In addition, this technology can be applied in such fields as steel, coking, and petroleum refining, and can serve as a role model in the development of a green, low-carbon and circular economy in the industrial sector.