Prince William unveils Lanzatech as a Finalist for the Second Annual Earthshot Prize Awards

• Launched in 2020 by HRH Prince William, The Earthshot Prize is the world’s most prestigious environmental prize
• LanzaTech’s gas fermentation technology traps pollution and turns it into something useful. By targeting CO2, as well as industrial, municipal and agricultural waste, the company has discovered a way to produce large quantities of useful materials, while keeping fossil fuels in the ground

Today, Prince William and The Earthshot Prize revealed LanzaTech as one of the 15 Finalists for the second inaugural Fix Our Climate Earthshot for their carbon transformation solution, that can be deployed in any geography using available waste streams. The solution creates new circular models of production, reducing the carbon footprint of the things we use every day, while keeping our skies clean and healthy for all communities. 

LanzaTech will be in the running to receive a £1 million award at the second-annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony. The Prize takes inspiration from President John F. Kennedy’s ‘Moonshot,’ which united millions of people around an organising goal to put man on the moon and catalysed the development of new technology in the 1960s.

Prince William said: “The innovators, leaders, and visionaries that make up our 2022 Earthshot Finalists prove there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of our planet. They are directing their time, energy, and talent towards bold solutions with the power to not only solve our planet’s greatest environmental challenges, but to create healthier, more prosperous, and more sustainable communities for generations to come.

“I am so excited to celebrate these fifteen Finalists and see the five Winners of The Earthshot Prize announced in Boston – the hometown of President John F. Kennedy, who shared The Earthshot Prize’s belief that seemingly impossible goals are within reach if we only harness the limitless power of innovation, human ingenuity, and urgent optimism.”

LanzaTech is led by Colombian-born chemist, Dr. Jennifer Holmgren and was launched by Dr. Sean Simpson and the late Dr. Richard Forster in 2005 in New Zealand, to find new ways of producing sustainable fuels and chemicals that didn’t impact land, food or biodiversity. Since then, LanzaTech’s partners have deployed three commercial plants in China, converting industrial emissions to ethanol, mitigating the equivalent of over 200,000 tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere. The ethanol produced at these plants has been converted into useful products, such as sustainable fuels, packaging, cosmetics, cleaning products and textiles. Zara, Unilever, Coty, Mibelle, On and Lululemon are some of the major consumer brands that have made products from recycled carbon.  LanzaTech hopes to work with local communities, governments, and partners to establish a Post Pollution future, where carbon can be infinitely reused. LanzaTech has six plants under construction, with eight more in the design phase, each using different waste feedstocks.  With LanzaTech, waste feedstocks are building a clean future.

Dr. Jennifer Holmgren said, “We are honored to be recognized by HRH Prince William as a Finalist for The Earthshot Prize. Fixing our climate is one of the greatest challenges of our generation, and we believe that with the support of The Earthshot Prize we can accelerate and scale our carbon transformation solution rethink how the world procures, uses and disposes of carbon. By utilizing carbon emissions as a resource, we hope to bring sustainable choices to all people.  It is only through collaboration and the support of our community that we will succeed in repairing and regenerating our world. Congratulations to all the finalists.”

In addition to their eligibility for the £1 million prize, all Finalists will receive tailored support and resources from The Earthshot Prize Global Alliance Members, an unprecedented network of private sector businesses around the world committed to helping scale innovative climate and environmental solutions and multiplying their impact.

The five Winners will be selected by The Earthshot Prize Council, a diverse team of influential individuals committed to using their platforms to champion inspiring leadership and elevate urgent efforts to repair and regenerate the planet. The Earthshot Prize Council Members include: HRH Prince William, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Cate Blanchett, Daniel Alves Da Silva, Sir David Attenborough, Ernest Gibson, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Jack Ma, Shakira Mebarak, Yao Ming, Luisa Neubauer, Indra Nooyi, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Naoko Yamazaki.

A truly global project, The Earthshot Prize convenes a diverse nominator coalition of more than 200 people and organisations around the world from every continent, a distinguished Expert Advisory Panel, and The Earthshot Prize Council comprising influential individuals committed to championing positive environmental action.

The fifteen Finalists were assessed by the Expert Advisory Panel of scientific, academic, and subject-matter leaders. Each of the Finalist’s solutions excelled in the rigorous screening process and were assessed on their potential to create game-changing impact around the world, and their ability to help us reach our Earthshot challenges while positively impacting people, communities, and the natural world.

The Earthshot Prize awards ceremony will take place on Friday, December 2 at the MGM Music Hall in Boston. It will air around the world on BBC in the UK and PBS in the United States. The show will also be available globally on YouTube. It will premiere on Sunday, December 4.

Source:

LanzaTech, press release, 2022-11-04.