An American startup has announced a technology that, it says, transforms textile and mixed-plastic waste into an infinitely reusable resource, helping the chemicals industry transition to a lower-carbon, circular economy.
- Protein Evolution Inc (PEI), based in Connecticut, US, has leveraged recent breakthroughs in natural science and artificial intelligence, and designed enzymes to break down end-of-life textile and plastic waste into the building blocks that make up new textile and plastic products.
- The company, founded in 2021, expects to launch its first commercial partnership by the end of 2022, addressing the needs of global consumer brands seeking to recycle and transform textiles and mixed-plastic waste.
The Technology: PEI’s proprietary process is the first of its kind that is built to scale, creating a cost-effective solution with immediate applications for the petrochemical industry, global consumer goods companies, textile manufacturers and others that are looking to significantly reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
- Protein Evolution’s technology iteratively tests, evaluates and maps tens of millions of unique enzymes to identify the most effective way to recycle waste materials into reusable chemicals.
- This approach, the company says, will help to decarbonise the chemicals industry and carry a significant impact in the emerging bioeconomy as companies, communities and governments are required to meet global sustainability goals in the years ahead.
The Background: The Protein Evolution team works in tandem with pre-eminent researchers who are pushing the boundaries of protein engineering and materials innovation.
- Protein Evolution’s initial funding, amounting to more than $20 million, has come from notable entrepreneurs and industry leaders.
- The fundraising round was led by Collaborative Fund’s recently announced climate fund, Collab SOS, which is in partnership with iconic fashion designer and pioneer in sustainable materials Stella McCartney.
- Additional funding came from New Climate Ventures, Eldridge, Nextrans, and Good Friends, which is backed by the founders of Warby Parker, Allbirds and Harry’s.
- Protein Evolution has a partnership with ESPCI Paris and 4Catalyzer, a life sciences accelerator dedicated to making a global impact through bold innovations in medicine, engineering, machine learning, life sciences and biotech.
What They Said:
Despite significant and aggressive industry commitments toward sustainability, the current approach to plastic recycling is costly, ineffective and resource-intensive. Right now, it's far cheaper for petrochemical companies to produce new 'virgin' plastics than it is to recycle existing materials, which is one of many reasons why used plastic is piling up in our oceans, landfills and incinerators. PEI has innovated a low-energy, cost-competitive process for upcycling finished plastics that's poised to meet both industry concerns and deliver massive environmental benefits. We're working hard to usher in a new era of plastics—one that's truly sustainable and circular.
— Connor Lynn
Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer
Protein Evolution Inc
Corporations, and the actions they take today, play a significant role in charting the course of the climate future. The technology that Protein Evolution has developed allows the world’s largest consumer brands to meet sustainability commitments at scale, without compromising on cost or quality of materials. Our investment in PEI is an incredible opportunity to support an innovator who will soon become a leader in the global bioeconomy.
— Sophie Bakalar
Partner / Board Member
Collaborative Fund / Protein Evolution Inc
Nature has already produced a bacteria that can break down plastic for emission-free recycling, but it’s extremely slow. If we had a few million years to wait for evolution to run its course, we'd have something much more efficient. Our technology condenses a million-year evolutionary process into a single day—helping us create an affordable, scalable and effective solution to revolutionize the plastic waste industry.
— Scott Stankey
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Protein Evolution Inc
As the bioeconomy continues to grow, and scaling biomanufacturing continues to become more crucial to support that growth, it's clear that the work Protein Evolution is doing will help lay the foundation for the future of synthetic biology. At 4Catalyzer, we've created a number of world 'firsts' in the health technology industry, all of which aim to help heal the people we love. I am incredibly proud of the work the team at Protein Evolution has done to leverage 4Catalyzer's strengths in AI and synthetic biology to help heal the planet we all love and depend on.
— Jonathan Rothberg
Co-Founder and Chairman
Protein Evolution Inc
