Made of Air’s pitch won the crowd vote at the GreenBiz Group’s Circularity 21 contest and beat four other startups in the process with an innovative approach for carbon-negative plastics. The German company’s pitch was praised by several investment pros, such as the managing director of Closed Loop Partners, Jessica Long, and the chief impact officer of Circulate Capital, Ellen Martin.
The startup is addressing the issue of creating plastics in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. As was determined by the Center for International Environmental Law, 99% of all plastics are produced from chemicals originating from fossil fuels.
This means that the production of plastic is highly carbon-intense. For instance, in 2019 alone, it was found to release over 850 million metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. That is roughly the equivalent of 189 500-megawatt coal power plants.
Now Made of Air aims to change the game by manufacturing plastics that not only do not have a carbon footprint but are actually carbon-negative. To make this possible, the German company has created a ground-breaking technology that produces thermoplastics from wood waste that makes them both renewable and durable. But on top of that, this new technology prevents CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere.
Furthermore, as was shared by the company’s CEO, Allison Dring, the process actually takes CO2 out of the air by using waste wood that naturally releases carbon dioxide when it decomposes. Hence, this makes Made of Air’s technology carbon negative.
And adding to this is the fact that the plastics themselves sequester carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, acting as a carbon sink.
Made of Air has already partnered with major corporations, such as Audi and H&M, on projects that aim to reduce the world’s carbon footprint. So this wouldn’t be the company’s first initiative but is undoubtedly a very significant one.
Dring announced that the first production line is set to pilot next year in a factory outside of Berlin.
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