4 Carbontech Companies Making Products from Thin Air

October 17, 2019

Print This Article Share it With Friends

by Jim Giles (Green Biz Group) ... Each of these examples has developed a process that uses carbon dioxide to create valuable products — turning waste into revenue, the essence of circularity. In different ways, these circular technologies also lessen our overuse of fossil fuels and agricultural land. What’s more, they’re active in multiple areas, which shows just how many parts of our economy would be affected if we can develop successful business models for carbon removal.

The flooring company Interface, known widely for its early leadership on reducing emissions, has developed a plant-based backing for carpet tiles that stores more carbon than it emits during its life cycle. Interface also has a closed-loop recycling system that uses old tiles as raw materials for new products. (These initiatives are part of the company’s ambitious new Climate Take Back mission.)

Fishmeal for aquaculture is just one of the many valuable products that can be synthesized using microbes developed by Bay Area startup Kiverdi. The microbes are combined with carbon dioxide, hydrogen, nitrogen and water in a bioreactor powered by renewable energy. Through this process, Kiverdi’s Aquafeed has the potential to replace the wild fish caught annually to meet the growing demand for aquaculture, the fastest-growing food production sector.

Around a year ago, a Boeing 747 operated by Virgin Atlantic flew from Orlando to London using jet fuel produced by LanzaTech, a company that creates fuels from the carbon-rich waste gases emitted by steel mills and other facilities. Aviation emissions — currently 2 percent of the global total, according to the Air Transport Action Group — are forecast to at least triple in coming decades. Technology such as LanzaTech’s one day could create jet fuel from carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere, avoiding the use of fossil fuels and dramatically lowering the industry’s carbon footprint.

My final pick is a company I can’t yet reveal because its product launch is still a few weeks away. I wanted to mention it anyway because I think at least some of you might like cocktails, and so might be interested in a new brand of vodka made from waste carbon dioxide. Suffice to say it’s intoxicating, so stay tuned.

If you're interested in diving deeper into the companies powering the circular carbon economy, the newly released Circular Carbon Network is a great resource. The website, created by XPRIZE and collaborating organizations, contains a database detailing 252 carbon removal companies, from over 20 countries that combined have raised more $2 billion for these technologies. READ MORE

LanzaTech and partners debut products made from recycled industrial pollution. (BioMarket Insights)

Nothing is made out of thin air…until now. Air Protein introduces world’s first air-based food (Biofuels Digest)

Excerpts from Biofuels Digest: “The process to create this new form of protein uses elements found in the air and is combined with water and mineral nutrients. It uses renewable energy and a probiotic production process to convert the elements into a nutrient-rich protein with the same amino acid profile as an animal protein and packed with crucial B vitamins, which are often deficient in a vegan diet.”

...

According to Air Protein, “The scientists of NASA, challenged with how to produce food for a year-long mission with limited space and resources, soon discovered a special class of microbes. These natural single-cell organisms, specifically, called hydrogenotrophs, act like plants in converting carbon dioxide into food. The concept was simple. Astronauts would exhale CO2, which would be captured by the microbes, then converted, with other inputs such as power and water, into food, which would feed the astronauts. Then these astronauts would exhale CO2, further enabling the hydrogenotrophs to continue producing an endless cycle of nutrients.”

Behind the Scenes – Kiverdi

Kiverdi is the company behind the technology – it’s a sister company of Air Protein and has a history of using CO2 to make things like plastics and soil. We covered them back in 2015 here in Biofuels Digest’s 5-Minute Guide.

You can watch Kiverdi CEO, Dr. Lisa Dyson, the physicist brains behind it all, on the TED Stage here where she shares her vision for a sustainable future with Air Protein. She was named one of the “Most Creative People in 2017” by Fast Company. READ MORE