Greentech Lead Asia: Newlight Technologies has expanded the production
capacity of sustainable bioplastics with the addition of 100,000-pounds in new
production per year.
The advanced-generation gas-to-plastic production line
converts air and greenhouse gases into high-performance bioplastics that
can significantly out-compete oil-based plastics on price.
Newlight’s expanded line is fully operational, and
incorporates a range of patent-protected and patent-pending technologies,
including the company’s most advanced resin functionalization and performance
modification technologies. Plastics made from the line are used in
applications ranging from furniture parts and storage containers to film
applications.
“The addition of this new advanced-generation
capacity is the result of a singular focus: to manufacture plastic resins from
air and greenhouse gas that match or exceed oil-based resins on performance
while significantly out-competing on price,” said Newlight CEO, Mark
Herrema. “This line is an important milestone for Newlight, because
it achieves those objectives in resounding fashion, and provides a powerful
stepping stone on our path to commodity-scale volume.”
Newlight has developed, patented, and commercialized a
groundbreaking technology that pulls carbon and oxygen molecules out of air
containing greenhouse gas and converts those molecules into high-performance,
sustainable plastics at ultra-high-efficiency.
Newlight’s technology is operable using a wide range of
carbon sources, including greenhouse gases derived from wastewater treatment
systems, landfills, and energy facilities. The company’s plastics require
no oil, no food crops, and, of equal importance, can out-compete oil-based
commodity plastics on price.
Capabilities of Newlight’s advanced-generation line
include the ability to produce the company’s most advanced-performance grade
resins, including resins that can supplant otherwise non-sustainable grades of
polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS, and TPU.