Auckland, New Zealand  : LanzaTech,a pioneer in waste-to-fuels and chemicals technology, has closed US$15 million in debt financing from Western Technology Investment (WTI), a private investment firm based in Silicon Valley.

Earlier this year, LanzaTech closed a US$55.8M Series C funding round led by Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund, bringing the total capital raised to date to more than US$100 million.

David Wanek of WTI says LanzaTech’s team has developed an innovative approach to carbon capture and reuse that is already operating at scale.

“Its unique technology has the potential to have a real and significant impact on the global fuels and chemicals market,” he says.  “WTI is excited to be joining LanzaTech on its journey to commercialisation and we look forward to great things from them.”

LanzaTech chief executive Jennifer Holmgren says WTI has an outstanding reputation and this latest venture debt completes LanzaTech’s current fundraising . She says the company will continue to invest its capital in research and development and to accelerate the commercialization of its integrated fuels and chemicals platform.

LanzaTech has developed a novel biological process of carbon capture and reuse using proprietary biological microbes that can use a variety of waste gases as a nutrient source- including waste gases from industry, which would otherwise be flared as carbon dioxide (CO2).

Operating completely outside the food value chain, LanzaTech can also use syngas generated from any biomass resource (such as municipal biowaste, organic industrial waste, and agricultural waste) and reformed natural gas.