26-03-2024

Technip Energies and LanzaTech receive investment for decarbonised ethylene facility

Technip Energies and LanzaTech Global, Inc. have been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to begin award negotiations for up to $200 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding as part of the Industrial Demonstrations Program (IDP).

The project SECURE – standing for Sustainable Ethylene from CO₂ Utilization with Renewable Energy – aims to develop a transformational technology to produce sustainable ethylene from captured carbon dioxide (CO₂). Technip Energies and LanzaTech announced their Joint Collaboration Agreement to create this new pathway to sustainable ethylene at commercial scale in July 2023.

Estimated to reach a $200 billion market by 2030 and with a global demand of over 231 million tons per year, ethylene is the key building block for thousands of chemicals and materials and is often called the 'world’s most important chemical'. This new joint technology will be developed in the U.S. for integration directly into existing commercial ethylene crackers, whereby it will capture CO₂ emissions from the process and convert them into sustainable ethylene.

Arnaud Pieton, CEO at Technip Energies, stated: “We are extremely proud to have been selected by the DOE for this significant award consideration. Together with LanzaTech, our plan is to fully test and develop this breakthrough technology, at scale, in an actual plant, which can then be replicated in other facilities. Carbon utilisation and the ability to decarbonize ethylene will have a significant impact on the chemicals industry’s emissions abatement, which is a benefit to us all.”

Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, said: “The DOE’s Industrial Demonstrations Program is climate leadership in action. We look forward to developing a replicable, breakthrough solution with Technip Energies that creates high-quality jobs and supports local communities for a just energy transition.”

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said: “Spurring on the next generation of decarbonization technologies in key industries like steel, paper, concrete, and glass will keep America the most competitive nation on Earth. Thanks to President Biden’s industrial strategy, DOE is making the largest investment in industrial decarbonization in the history of the United States. These investments will slash emissions from these difficult-to-decarbonise sectors and ensure American businesses and American workers remain at the forefront of the global economy.”

If awarded, up to $200 million is expected to fund the design, engineering, construction, and equipment for a commercial-scale integrated technology unit in the U.S. Leveraging Technip Energies’ substantial industry expertise, this integrated solution has significant replication potential for ethylene crackers worldwide. Globally, there are an estimated 370 ethylene steam crackers, more than 40% of which use Technip Energies’ technology, including eight in the US.

Project SECURE expects to provide 200 construction jobs and 40 permanent jobs with benefits and training opportunities. Once the site is finalised, the project aims to hire from the local area with a focus on residents of disadvantaged communities. Technip Energies and LanzaTech plan to approach community groups, unions, and labour groups to negotiate, review, and update agreements for quality jobs and community collaboration at the host site. The project was selected as one of 33 projects across more than 20 states to receive up to a total of $6 billion to demonstrate commercial-scale decarbonisation solutions needed to move energy-intensive industries toward net-zero while strengthening local economies, creating, and maintaining high-quality jobs, and slashing harmful emissions that jeopardise public health.