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“I don’t think of mistakes as mistakes. You just have to dig deeper. Every time that something goes wrong, you have to dig deeper to find a solution.”
In honor of national STEM Day this week, this issue's feature is Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, an innovative STEM leader and CEO of LanzaTech.
Prior to LanzaTech, Dr. Holmgren was VP and General Manager of the Renewable Energy and Chemicals business unit at UOP LLC, a Honeywell Company. In 2015, she and her team were awarded the US Environmental Protection Agency Presidential Green Chemistry Award and she received the BIO Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology. She received the 2020 William C. Holmberg Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Advanced Bioeconomy by the Digest, the most widely read online bioeconomy journal. In 2021 she received the Edison Achievement Award for making a significant and lasting contribution to the world of innovation. She is on the Advisory Council for the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. She is also the Director and Chair of the LanzaJet Board of Directors.
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What motivated you to get into this field?
Well, for “this field” I will consider that STEM to start with.
I was born in Colombia and my family moved to the US when I was nine. I was already excited by science and the US by then. I had followed the NASA space program through the news in Colombia and like every child at that time, I wanted to be an astronaut. The year man landed on the Moon was the year I went to the US. I am a product of the US public school system and I am grateful to the system for the opportunities it provided me. I was also lucky to have a chemistry teacher that inspired and encouraged me to pursue that subject.
After my studies, I joined UOP, a multinational headquartered in Illinois, and worked there for 23 years until I joined LanzaTech. During my time at UOP I discovered my passion for technology that could have a big impact. LanzaTech attracted me because I recognized its technology could have a real and significant impact on the future of energy in a way that was environmentally sound, didn’t threaten food security and could democratize global energy distributions systems by also providing off grid solutions.
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Among your many, many accomplishments, what stands out in your mind as being particularly noteworthy?
I am so honored to have been recognized over my career for doing the things I love and for working with awesome people. For me, what is important is being able to inspire others and also to see that work in this field, especially in carbon recycling and sustainable “tough tech”, is acknowledged and talked about. So when I think about the EPA Green Chemistry Award or the Edison Award for Innovation or the other wonderful acknowledgements over the years, it raises the profile of the sector and gets people talking about what is possible today and the path to creating a very different carbon economy!
I think it is important to remember that innovation has a reason for being and does not exist in a vacuum and for that reason, I was also really honored that the sustainability magazine, Salt, named me the world’s most compassionate businesswoman in 2015 and in that same year, I was awarded the Outstanding Leader Award in Corporate Social Innovation from the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago.
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Products that can currently be made from captured CO2 include aviation fuel, clothes, beverages, product packaging, soap, watches, cement, etc. What else will be made from captured CO2 in the near future?
EVERYTHING! We are developing technologies today to be able to make everything we need from recycled carbon. As we scale up production of green hydrogen and the ability to capture CO2 directly, we can leverage renewable power and pull feedstocks straight from the atmosphere to make everything we need, keeping virgin fossil in the ground. This isn’t science fiction. This is real.
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What could accelerate CCU becoming more mainstream?
I think consumer awareness. Most folks don’t realize that everything around them comes from fossil carbon. For example, I have 2 rescue greyhounds. When I think about their toys, blankets, cushions etc…there’s fossil carbon. Do we stop and think about where the carbon in our stuff comes from? I don’t think so. Not yet. It’s a bit like where we were (or still are) with thinking about organic produce or fair trade goods. We need people to think about it and then demand sustainably sourced carbon. We need brands to offer it and talk about it. We need companies to rethink their supply chains so consumers can start tracking this and talking about it!
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Richard Branson once said about LanzaTech “It’s extraordinary how brave they’ve been, how they’ve managed to keep the funding coming in, how they’ve managed to get to where they’ve got.” What’s your secret? How did you do it?
Patient investors. Great partners. Time. Awesome global team. Great data and no sleep!
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What’s next for LanzaTech?
More stuff on the shelves! More plants operating! Today we have six plants in various stages of design and construction. We are getting ready to see our first plants come online in India and Europe. We have two operating in China. We already have some products in the stores globally with brands like Mibelle and Unilever and will be bringing more consumer products to market in the next 12 months. Keep an eye out in the apparel sector in particular.
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You’ve been quoted as saying,
“I don’t think of mistakes as mistakes. You just have to dig deeper. Every time that something goes wrong, you have to dig deeper to find a solution.”
And, to the next generation of innovators,
“Go for it! Go for it hard. Go for it big. Don’t give up! If something stands in your way, find another way around it and just keep going.”
Your words and actions are very inspirational. Do you have a quote or a person that inspires you?
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I’ll give you two:
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” Buckminster Fuller
“Just smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave.” Penguins of Madagascar
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What do you wish I had asked you?
How can I do more to raise awareness about the terrible plight of racing greyhounds?
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What can people do to help facilitate the fight against climate change?
I think the most important thing to remember is “What you do matters”. No matter who you are, we all have a voice. Some people are lucky enough to have a platform to have their voice heard by more listeners, but I urge everyone to have a voice and speak up when they see injustice against others and against the planet. From voting, to speaking up, to making choices with your wallet at the store. Our actions and words have an impact on brands, governments and other consumers.
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