Technologies are moving closer and closer to making textiles capture CO2 from the air a reality in the near future. Xinterra – a high-tech materials-centric company unlocking innovation in materials R&D, announced the launch of a new brand COzTERRA – Xinterra’s initiative for the CO2 removal textiles that the company is bringing to the market in the coming months.
Xinterra is a Singapure-based startup founded in 2021 that develops new materials in sectors like solar energy, thermoelectric, green chemistry, biopolymers, and nanomaterials, that are essential in creating sustainable products and applications.
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Having decades of materials experience, the company uses its groundbreaking AI-driven and High Throughput Experimentation-powered platform XDF (Xinterra Design Factory™️) to develop materials for commercial use in record time.
It has also developed CO2 removal materials applied in textiles, now under the cap of COzTERRA that empower every individual to remove CO2 from the atmosphere to tackle climate change. Armed with expertise, big vision and potential impact, COzTERRA turns textiles into an ally in solving the biggest challenge of humanity.
Going forward, it also wants to expand this concept to other kinds of “dormant” surfaces, beyond textiles. Having our clothes treated to capture and remove CO2 from the atmosphere along with other surfaces like tablecloths, bedding, towels, curtains, etc. increases the removal potential of the technology to a gigaton scale.
“On launching COzTERRA we are thrilled to enable every human being on the surface of our planet to become CO2 removal agents, giving purpose to dormant surfaces by enabling textiles to remove CO2 from air. We firmly believe that individual action will lead to collective impact,” commented for Carbon Herald, Patrick Teyssonneyre, CEO & Co-Founder of Xinterra.
The process works as textiles are treated with auxiliaries in the final stage of production of the fabric, which is called “finishing”. COzTERRA does not produce the textiles itself but works with textile mills and provides the auxiliaries. It is starting with cellulosic fabrics like cotton but it has also achieved promising initial lab results on other fabrics like polyester, polyamide and wool.
When exposed to air, the clothes start collecting and holding CO2. When washed, a regular detergent forms a harmless mineral that is washed away, making sure the carbon dioxide doesn’t return to the atmosphere. During the washing process, the carbon removal agent is recharged so it can continue its job of removing CO2 from the air.
According to Mr Teyssonneyre, COzTERRA has lab results up to 20 washes and after the 20th wash, the clothes can still remove 50% of the amount of CO2 removed before the first wash. The entity has also found that typically a t-shirt treated with COzTERRA can remove 16 grams to 41 grams of CO2 in its lifetime. The amount varies as it depends on variables like type of fibers, weight of textile and the total number of wears of the t-shirt.
Currently, COzTERRA is at the stage where it is validating the products at a pilot scale in its facilities, planning to test the technology at an industrial scale with some partners – textile mills. It already has several partners interested, including Ghim Li – a company providing global textile and apparel supply chain solutions, supplying several fashion brands in the US.
“At Singapore Fashion Council’s Be the Change Summit 2023, we met Xinterra Patrick Teyssonneyre. Today, we are at our vertical fabric mill Maxim collaborating on new sustainable fabric innovation. I am excited about our next steps on how we can innovate a new product that can help to reduce our carbon footprint. Together, we can save our planet,” stated in a post, Felicia Peiling Gan, Chief Executive Officer at Ghim Li Group.
Going forward, COzTERRA will be looking to partner with textile mills to adopt its CO2 capture materials, as well as fashion brands willing to adopt CO2 capture textiles on their portfolio. It is also looking to connect with potential investors for its next financing round, not yet been formally announced.
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“in the same way that it’s inconceivable today to think how could society live in the past without smartphones or personal computers, we want to make CO2 removal textiles the norm, so people in the future will be shocked by the fact the textiles didn’t remove CO2 in the past and will consider it inconceivable too,” added further Mr Teyssonneyre.
Having the clothes we wear and the textiles we own remove CO2 from the atmosphere opens another huge pathway towards handling the excess emissions in the atmosphere. COzTERRA is showing the door to a new era where society is freed from climate paralysis and inertia, and each individual is empowered to make a real impact on reducing emissions and solving the climate crisis.
