Carbon management solutions major LanzaTech Global has posted strong operational results from a municipal solid waste–to–ethanol pilot plant in Kuji City, Japan, marking a major milestone for industrial carbon recycling and waste-to-fuels technology.

 

The facility, owned and operated by longtime partner SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO., successfully ran for nearly four years after mechanical completion in April 2022. 

 

Operating at one-tenth commercial scale, the plant is capable of producing about 400 tons of ethanol annually and demonstrated that LanzaTech’s gas fermentation platform can consistently process highly inhomogeneous, unsorted, non-recyclable municipal waste—material that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated.

 

The results underscore the technology’s ability to handle some of the most challenging waste streams, a key requirement for deploying waste-to-ethanol solutions across regions with vastly different waste profiles. That adaptability is central to building a global circular carbon economy.

 

The Kuji project was funded by SBR, a joint venture between Sekisui Chemical and INCJ, a public-private investment fund overseen by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), with additional support from the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.

 

During its most recent campaign, the plant exceeded its guaranteed performance, sustaining ethanol yields above guaranteed levels for more than 14 consecutive days after reaching steady state. 

 

This marked the most productive fermentation run at the site to date. Crucially, those results were achieved while processing particularly difficult syngas compositions, with combined carbon monoxide and hydrogen levels of 40% to 55% and hydrogen-to-carbon monoxide ratios between 1.1 and 1.4—conditions that pose significant challenges for many catalytic technologies.

 

Gasification is a well-established method for treating solid waste, and LanzaTech has previously integrated its fermentation platform with multiple conventional gasifier systems. The Kuji facility also served as a proving ground for collaboration around a novel gasifier design, further demonstrating the robustness of LanzaTech’s fermentation process even under highly variable feed gas conditions.

 

“We are immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together at our Japan demonstration facility,” said Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech. 

 

“Our sincere thanks go to our partner Sekisui Chemical and the prefecture of Iwate and the city of Kuji for their outstanding collaboration and support. The results at Kuji once again demonstrate the scalability and technical viability of our fermentation platform. We are also grateful to the Government of Japan for its continued support and investment in sustainable technologies. We look forward to building on this progress and expanding sustainable fuels and chemicals in Japan and beyond.”

 

LanzaTech said the success of the Kuji pilot reinforces its commitment to advancing waste-to-energy solutions that support a circular economy. By converting difficult waste streams into ethanol and other valuable intermediates, the company aims to help supply low-carbon feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuel and chemicals, accelerating the global shift toward cleaner, more sustainable energy systems.