KSA’s Olayan partners up with USA’s Lanzatech on carbon recycling: Saudi Arabian investment firm Olayan Financing Company and US-based carbon recycling company LanzaTech have formed a JV to expand deployment of the latter’s carbon repurposing tech in KSA, according to a statement.

The tech: LanzaTech's carbon capture and utilization technology uses microbial gas fermentation, a process through which CO2 and carbon dioxide are fused with hydrogen via microorganisms to produce low-carbon fuels like SAF, the company notes. Back in 2018, the company operated in partnership with Virgin Atlantic on its first SAF-powered commercial flight using syngas produced from steel mill emissions.

The JV’s mission: The newly formed JV will deploy LanzaTech’s proprietary technology to repurpose industrial gasses as well as solid waste feedstocks from hard-to-abate sectors in KSA as well as undisclosed select markets across MENA, the statement notes. The JV will also look to develop projects that are fully integrated with its patented Alcohol-to-Jet process in a bid to generate SAFs.

Not the company’s first entry into the MENA market: Back in February, LanzaTech signed an MoU with Tadweer in February to explore the possibility of establishing a waste to sustainable aviation fuels conversion plant. The planned conversion facility could also see carbon waste used to produce fabric materials and other applications.