Circular Economy at Scale (A): LanzaTech's Mission to Turn Pollution into Profits

On a chilly fall afternoon in Skokie, Illinois, Jennifer Holmgren had a few minutes of time between meetings to stop and reflect. The CEO of LanzaTech, a company dedicated to “recycling carbon with biology,” had, over the last decade, overseen the growth of one of the largest gas fermentation companies in the world. Under her watch, the company had achieved its first commercially scaled demonstration of its proprietary biorefinery1, launched a new jet fuel business line and had a long line of projects in the pipeline. She had accomplished what most CEOs dream of doing—taking the company public.

Despite this success, Holmgren could not help but feel uncertain. The company’s current business model, licensing its technology to industrial partners, helped LanzaTech reach commercial scale. But the company had yet to achieve profitability, and it was time to consider whether it made sense to move operations in-house. There was also a more existential question—should the company pivot away from its diversified product offerings and solely focus on one product or use case? Some large investors were pushing the company to move in this direction.

Holmgren pondered the implications of both decisions. The company had made it this far by understanding the market and taking a course that differed from peers. Successfully navigating the challenges that faced LanzaTech not only would define the company’s future success but perhaps that of the renewable fuels, materials, chemicals and even nutrition industries.