BRIGHT and LanzaTech partner on carbon-to-value biofoundry in Denmark

BRIGHT, the Novo Nordisk Foundation Biotechnology Research Institute for the Green Transition at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), has entered a multi-year partnership with LanzaTech Global Inc. to accelerate technologies that convert industrial carbon emissions into fuels, chemicals, and materials.

The collaboration, running until April 2028, will establish a next-generation C1 biofoundry at DTU focused on gas fermentation processes that use microbes to transform CO₂, CO, and methane into usable products. The facility is intended to strengthen Europe’s capacity in carbon-to-value biotechnology and support the development of circular bioeconomy solutions.

The new biofoundry will integrate advanced synthetic biology tools, automation, AI, and gas-handling systems designed to improve the efficiency of developing engineered microbes for carbon conversion. According to the partners, the platform will enable faster strain development, reduce innovation risk through high-throughput testing, and support iterative design cycles using data-driven modelling.

LanzaTech, which has spent over 15 years developing gas fermentation technologies and dedicated biofoundry systems for non-model organisms, will contribute workflows, expertise, and a non-exclusive IP license for relevant tools. The company will also help design and install the customized biofoundry infrastructure at DTU.

The partners say the initiative aims to close existing gaps in access to advanced C1 biotechnology platforms, enabling broader research participation and accelerating the development of industrial applications that convert waste carbon streams into commercial products.