Oco – a carbon capture and utilization technology company owned by Carbon Upcycling Technologies, announced a new milestone in providing consumer products with reused captured carbon dioxide.
The company will collaborate with adidas on the release of 400,000 pairs of adidas’s Terrex footwear which will pilot CO2-enhanced ink developed by Oco. Oco’s proprietary technology blends screen printing ink with captured carbon material. The CO2-enhanced ink aims to reduce emissions from using fossil-fuel-based feedstock instead. The shoes are expected to be released in the Fall of 2023.
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“Our goal has always been to facilitate the decarbonization journey of consumer goods brands… This pilot is an incredible example of the collaboration possible between clean technology and industry leaders, like adidas TERREX. Today, there are few products available in the consumer market that are tangible examples of carbon capture and utilization. Although this is only a small component of the overall product, we’re excited to work with adidas TERREX to introduce circular materials in consumer goods and progress consumer education,” said Madison Savilow, Co-Founder and Venture Lead of Oco.
Oco’s collaboration with adidas started in early 2022, when the company got in contact with adidas’s innovation team. According to Dante Luu, Marketing and Public Relations Associate at Oco, based on the success of this pilot, it will continue to work with adidas to introduce circular materials into everyday essentials.
Oco Company is founded with the vision that all consumer goods can improve the planet. It works with consumer goods companies to integrate circular and regenerative materials into their supply chains and products. It captures CO2 and produces circular materials incorporated into products like shoes, yoga mats, bags, cosmetics, and more.
“We source low-grade materials, such as graphite and magnesium, that traditionally could not be used in consumer goods and plastics. Then, enhance them through our carbon utilization process. This dually transforms these low-grade materials into high-performance alternatives that permanently remove carbon emissions and displace incumbent carbon-intensive materials,” explained Mr Luu for Carbon Herald on Oco’s carbon capture and utilization process.
“The solid feedstock (graphite or magnesium) is fed through our reactor, where it is ground into fine particles and combined with CO2 emissions from a point source emission. Currently, the carbon comes from the Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Center (ACCTC). Inside the reactor, the two are permanently bound together.
The output is a CO2-enhanced, high-performance additive that is then integrated into a consumer brand’s manufacturing process. The end product is non-toxic and demonstrates enhanced physical properties like increased tensile strength and improved recyclability,” he added.
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The company’s current capacity to produce advanced materials is 250 kg per day. It can achieve carbon reductions of up to 60% even in low-dose integration of its advanced materials compared to conventional ones. Another project it has developed is in partnership with Canadian filaments for carbon-captured PLA & PETG 3D printing filaments that have 7% and 5% recycled carbon, respectively.
