US biotechnology company LanzaTech has signed a multi-year agreement with Danish energy transition research group BRIGHT to develop a new carbon-to-fuels biofoundry at the Technical University of Denmark.<\/p>\n
The facility will focus on accelerating technologies that convert carbon emissions and methane into products such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), chemicals, and industrial materials.<\/p>\n
The project centers on gas fermentation technology, where specially engineered microbes consume one-carbon molecules like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide and convert them into usable products.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the concept has gained growing attention in the low-carbon fuels sector, engineering these microbes remains technically challenging.<\/p>\n
According to the partners, the new C1 biofoundry aims to address these bottlenecks through advanced automation, robotics, AI-driven design tools, and high-throughput strain development systems.<\/p>\n
The facility is expected to significantly speed up microbial development cycles by allowing thousands of microbial designs to be tested simultaneously, helping reduce development risk and improve scalability.<\/p>\n
Relevant: Fluor\u2019s Energise The Future 2026 Brings Together Europe\u2019s CCU And SAF Ecosystem<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis partnership brings unique capabilities to Denmark and accelerates our ambition to turn carbon emissions into valuable products,\u201d said Luuk van der Wielen, Director of BRIGHT<\/a>.<\/p>\n As part of the agreement, LanzaTech<\/a> will help design and install the biofoundry, develop tailored workflows for BRIGHT\u2019s research programmes, and provide access to relevant intellectual property and operational tools.<\/p>\n Growing momentum for carbon-based SAF development<\/p>\n The partnership comes as Europe accelerates efforts to scale sustainable aviation fuel production under the EU\u2019s ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, which requires increasing SAF use at European airports from 2% in 2025 to 70% by 2050.<\/p>\n LanzaTech has been expanding its footprint in the SAF sector over the past year. The company recently launched operations at its Freedom Pines Fuels facility in the US, which it describes as the world\u2019s first commercial-scale jet fuel production facility using ethanol as a feedstock.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, the company also selected North Sea Port in Ghent, Belgium, as the location for Europe\u2019s first commercial alcohol-to-jet SAF facility.<\/p>\n Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, said the Denmark partnership would help strengthen the company\u2019s wider commercial SAF ambitions while consolidating its biotechnology capabilities.<\/p>\n The Ghent project is expected to benefit from the region\u2019s established industrial infrastructure, including proximity to the ArcelorMittal<\/a> Steelanol ethanol plant, which could provide integration opportunities for future low-carbon fuel production.<\/p>\n