Partnership creates world's first polypropylene from CO2
Carbon transformation company Twelve and biotechnology company LanzaTech have partnered to transform CO2 emissions into polypropylene, a key polymer used for medical devices including syringes and IV bags.
Twelve’s carbon transformation technology converts CO2 into materials that are traditionally made from fossil fuels. The company helps brands eliminate emissions by replacing the petrochemicals in their products and supply chains with CO2Made carbon negative chemicals and materials, as well as carbon neutral fuels.
LanzaTech’s carbon recycling Pollution To Products technology uses nature-based solutions to produce ethanol and other materials from waste carbon sources. The partnership will bring together the two platform technologies to enable additional product development from CO2 streams, representing just one of many pathways to scale carbon transformation solutions.
“Polypropylene is a key material for essential medical supplies and for many products we rely on in our daily lives. Today, 100% of new polypropylene in use worldwide is made from petrochemicals. We now have a way to produce this critical material from CO2 and water instead of from fossil fuels, with no tradeoffs in quality, efficacy or performance. Replacing all of the world’s fossil polypropylene production with CO2Made polypropylene would reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 700 million tons per year or more,” said Twelve chief science officer, Dr Etosha Cave.
“By harnessing biology, we can leverage the power of nature to solve a very modern problem. The overabundance of CO2 in our atmosphere has pushed our planet into a state of emergency. We need all carbon transformation solutions to turn this liability into an opportunity, keeping fossil resources in the ground, and our climate safe for everyone,” said LanzaTech CEO, Dr. Jennifer Holmgren.