LanzaTech’s LanzaX Spinoff: A Public Gas Fermentation Carbon Utilization Company Moving into Synthetic Biology, but Not Yet Profitable

    LanzaTech is involved in a process utilizing microbes to turn CO2 into specialty chemicals. They have been around for a few decades and are continuing to branch out. According to Trellis:

“The new company, LanzaX, will take over a pipeline of existing LanzaTech projects focused on refining isopropanol, used in household products, medicines and cosmetics; and acetone, a solvent used in nail polish and paint removers. It will also focus on LanzaTech’s emerging gas fermentation technology, which can turn carbon monoxide or dioxide directly into chemicals.”

     LanzaTech is headed by CEO Jennifer Holmgren, a chemist and author of many patents.

“The company went public in February 2023 via a special purpose acquisition company in a deal valued at $2 billion, or $10 per share. Its stock trended downward throughout 2024, recently sinking below $1 per share.”

     The spinoff of LanzaX allows the company to focus on biorefining to produce ethanol. They have plants in Belgium, China, India, and the US. State of Georgia. LanzaX is basically a synthetic biology company.

     Mukunda Kaushik, a Lux Research analyst for carbon capture and utilization, noted:

“LanzaTech has taken this to the scale we need. Synbio has challenges, but the potential is that it can produce a wide range of chemicals.”

     LanzaTech’s first spinoff was LanzaJet, which makes sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). LanzaX’s synthetic biology technology is still in the later stages of R&D and is now seeking profitability.

     LanzaX will specialize in the design, development, optimization, and validation of gas fermentation strains utilizing their bioreactors. They utilize C1 microbes that consume methane, known as methanotrophs, or that consume other C1 compounds such as methanol, carbon monoxide (CO), and CO2, known as methylotrophs.

     An article in Science Trends considers the challenges of commercializing C1 microbes:

“While C1 microbes present attractive biotechnological platforms, many challenges exist that, so far, limit their broad use on a commercial scale. A reverse approach, of engineering the well-developed commercial platforms (E. coli, yeast) to consume C1 compounds has also been challenging. However, the outlook is bright for both approaches, as we now possess tools and technologies (genomics, computation) to push the technical boundaries of these limitations.”

     A 2018 paper in Current Opinion of Biotechnology summarizes the potential applications of methylotrophs, as seen in the paper’s highlights and graphical abstract below.

     Lanza Tech has been struggling in the marketplace, which is one reason for the spinoff. In fact, they could face bankruptcy. They were approached by an investor, Carbon Direct Capital Management, for a takeover offer that was considered to be a lowball offer. Another synthetic biology company, Danimer Scientific, which makes the biobased polymer polyhydroxyalkanoate and also went public through a SPAC, declared bankruptcy in March 2025. The profitability of carbon management companies is currently very difficult to secure without significant subsidization, and often even with that subsidization. Paths to commercialization remain challenging.  

     According to Lux Research, the global carbon utilization market value could reach $70 billion by 2030 and could increase to $550 billion by 2040. As shown in the graphs below, chemicals are one of the main product paths for utilizing carbon and CO2-to-chemicals. However, costs are still too high for successful commercialization in this sphere due mainly to the energy intensity of the processes. Lux analyzes the carbon utilization economy and carbon utilization chemicals in the last two graphics.  

     It remains to be seen whether Lanza Tech and its spinoffs, Lanza Jet and LanzaX, will be successful in the marketplace.

     

 

 

References:

 

Carbon recycling firm LanzaTech is spinning out synthetic biology tech. Heather Clancy. Trellis.  February 12, 2025. Carbon recycling firm LanzaTech spins up synthetic biology venture

LanzaX: Dedicated Strain Innovation Accelerating the path to scale and commercialization of globally sought-after synthetic biology strains. PowerPoint Presentation

C1 Microbes And Biotechnological Applications. Science Contributor. Science Trends. C1 Microbes And Biotechnological Applications - Science Trends

LanzaTech gets lowball takeover offer: Potential buyer says that purchase would be an alternative to bankruptcy. Alexander Tullo. Chemical and Engineering News. April 10, 2025. LanzaTech gets lowball takeover offer

CO₂ Utilization: The Evolution of the Carbon Economy. Arij van Berkel, Yuan-Sheng Yu, Runeel Daliah, Cecilia Gee, Mukunda Kaushik and Oscar Gáme. Lux Research. Co2 Utilization The Evolution of the Carbon Economy - eBook 10.24.23.pdf

Applications of methylotrophs: can single carbon be harnessed for biotechnology? Ludmila Chistoserdova. Current Opinion in Biotechnology. Volume 50, April 2018, Pages 189-194. Applications of methylotrophs: can single carbon be harnessed for biotechnology? - ScienceDirect