American appointed

New Zealand biofuel company LanzaTech says it has appointed a United States renewable energy leader, Jennifer Holmgren, as chief executive.

The move would free up co-founder Sean Simpson to return to the laboratory as chief scientific officer and to work on international projects.

This year the company announced it had attracted interest from China in its technology, which had been used in a pilot plant at the New Zealand Steel works to convert waste gas into high-octane ethanol.

In August last year, LanzaTech was named Green Technology Innovator of the Year at the Frost and Sullivan awards in Singapore.

- NZPA