September 2024

Fifty Shades of Plastic

Most of our products, from electronics to food, are made with or packaged in plastic. Most plastic materials are made from petroleum feedstocks, some are toxic, some use toxic building blocks or additives, and almost all can escape into the natural world and become pollutants. However, plastics are light, strong, easy to manufacture, and cheap. Addressing the problem of plastic toxicity and pollution requires a nuanced approach.

We differentiate between durable and single-use plastic applications. Single-use plastic applications, such as plastic cups or food packaging, are a significant pathway for delivering plastics into people’s bodies, strike us as wasteful, and likely cause most of the plastic releases into the natural world.

We also differentiate between thermoplastics (polyolefins, polyesters, polyvinyl chloride, styrene), and thermoset resins (most polyurethanes, silicones, and epoxy resins). The main difference is that thermoplastics melt and flow, whereas in thermosets the polymer chains are cross-linked, so they do not melt. This affects the way these materials are manufactured into final products and also whether mechanical recycling (melt and re-use) is an option.

There are also differences in toxicity potential between different types of plastics. We distinguish several categories in terms of the urgency and the type of the response we would look for. First, there are plastics with high toxicity potential such as polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, and epoxy resins that we should limit to certain durable applications. We would add toxic plastic additives such as bisphenols and phthalates to this category.

In our second group, there are materials with unique properties used mostly in durable applications, such as polyurethanes (PU) and silicones. We should look for safer alternatives or safer building blocks for these.

Finally, in the third group we have the widely used (including in most single use applications) plastics such as polyolefins (PP, PE), and polyesters (PET). For these, we should focus on reducing their use, recycling them, and, wherever possible, replacing them with safer, more sustainable alternatives such as paper, recycled materials, or compostable plastics such as PLA, PHA, or starch-based plastics.

For a summary of the main plastic materials and their toxicity potential click here.

If we focus on the toxicity potential of plastics, we inherently focus on the materials and the chemistry. However, people don’t buy materials and chemistry, they buy function and performance. When thinking of ways to remove or reduce potentially harmful plastics we must start with understanding the application, function, and performance dimensions and develop solutions that deliver those without, or with less, or with more sustainable, plastic. These solutions will likely be different for different applications.

For a summary of the plastic alternatives innovation landscape by application and function, in the food packaging, personal care, and textiles sectors, please click here.

Polyolefin Recycling Breakthrough

In our January newsletter, we discussed plastic recycling technologies and the development of next-generation depolymerizations catalysts. At the time we pointed out that no one had successfully depolymerized polyethylene or polypropylene back into monomers (ethylene and propylene) efficiently. Previous attempts had low yields, or changed the structure of the monomers, or both.

Recent research from UC Berkeley has, for the first time, demonstrated the ability to breakdown polyethylene back into ethylene at moderate (~60%) yields. This is exciting news and shows how fast the field is developing. The depolymerization of plastics into monomers could address issues with contamination and degradation often associated with recycled plastics. We believe that depolymerization technologies may eventually replace mechanical recycling technologies.

Advanced depolymerization catalysts will not, on their own, address the plastic pollution problem. Depolymerization technologies still rely on relatively pure waste feedstocks and are often more expensive than virgin plastic, or mechanically recycled plastics. We need to continue focusing on source reduction, improved collection and sorting, and safer alternatives.

PFAS-Free Non-Stick Pans

Teflon coated cookware is a familiar example of PFAS use. Many have switched to PFAS-free alternatives such as stainless steel and cast iron. For home cooks still looking for a non-stick surface, a new technology that does not rely on fluorine was developed by Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. Unlike other coatings claiming to be PFAS or PFOA-free, but still relying on fluorinated silicones, this technology is verified fluorine free. As a bonus, oil will spread well on the pan's surface, as opposed to beading, like on surfaces with fluorine containing coatings. This technology requires new plasma coating equipment for manufacturing. We don’t know of any brands in the US selling products using this coating but we look forward to trying it when available.

Financings

Applied Carbon, creator of a mobile biochar production system, raised $21.5 million.

Adept Materials, developer of a paint that can help homes control their internal humidity, raised $4 million seed.

Amulet, creator of consumer and commercial devices to detect food allergens, raised $5.8 million.

Apheros, maker of metal foams used to improve cooling in electronics, automotive, and data centers, raised $1.85 million.

Cellugy, maker of biobased ingredients for personal care products, raised a $5.3 million.

Dimpora, producer of PFAS free breathable waterproof membranes for outdoor apparel (and a Safer Made portfolio company) raised a financing round to support scaling production.

Fiberwood, maker of environmentally friendly insulation and packaging materials from natural fibers, raised $8.4 million.

Foray Biosciences, a biomanufacturing company, raised $3 million.

Fortera, producer of low-carbon cement, raised $85 million.

InventWood, a company creating advanced wood-based materials, raised $8 million.

Knowde, an online chemicals marketplace, raised 60 million.

Maxterial, a company developing an alternative to chromium metal coatings, raised $8 million.

Mimikai, developer of an insect repellent brand based on a new active ingredient, alternative to DEET (and a Safer Made portfolio company) raised a financing round to support its launch.

Molten Industries, a company that uses methane pyrolysis to make hydrogen and carbon raised $25 million.

Oxylus Energy, developer of a process that turns CO2 into methanol, raised $4.5 million.

Prolific Machines, a company using light to trigger cell growth for biomanufacturing raised $55 million.

Reibus, an online marketplace for buying and selling industrial metals, raised $30 million.

(Re)vive, a company helping minimize waste in the apparel supply chain, raised $3.5 million.

SiTration, a company extracting valuable metals from industrial waste, raised $11.8 million.

Uncaged Innovations, a company developing leather alternatives, raised $5.6 million.

Unspun, developer of a zero-waste 3D weaving technology for manufacturing apparel, raised $32 million.

Up Catalyst, manufacturer of materials like carbon nanotubes and graphite using carbon dioxide emissions, raised $2.6 million.

Vytal, a developer of reusable packaging solutions, raised €6 million.