CO2 to PHA – that is the short form of the German startup CO2BioClean from Wiesbaden. The two founders, Fabiana Fantinel and Alessandro Carfagnini, have figured out the trick to process carbon dioxide, which is so dangerous for the global climate, into biodegradable plastic. The aim is to kill two birds with one stone: harness CO2 from the atmosphere and offer a biological plastic as an alternative to plastic made from petroleum.
For the further development of the technology, the founders are now getting seed financing from BMH Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen mbH, the European EIC Fund and Ghazan Commodities GmbH. The aim now is to set up a 350-liter test facility, because so far there is only a 10-liter prototype and the plastic can therefore only be produced in very small quantities.
The process from CO2 to plastic looks like this: First, the carbon dioxide is captured by those who cause it, for example in industrial plants. This process is already known and partially established – investments are being made everywhere in carbon capture and direct air capture processes (especially by the oil industry). In a second step, the CO2 is then further processed in a fermentation process with the help of bacteria. It should be possible to produce one kilogram of the biopolymer polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) from one and a half kilograms of CO2.
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Fermentation as a key process
“The EIC Fund has established itself as a powerful force in EU investment in high technology. This unique form of funding through the EIC – a combination of grants and equity investments – is proving extremely attractive to the most promising European companies like CO2BioClean, giving them the means to develop and grow their businesses in Europe,” said the well-known Investor Hermann Hauser, who is a member of the Board of Directors of the EIC Fund.
Fermentation is a very central process for CO2 processing startups. For example, the Austrian startup Arkeon is working on converting CO2 into amino acids and ultimately food with the help of gas fermentation and microbes. Fermentation is also used by Finnish startup Solar Foods, which aims to produce protein from CO2.
Arkeon Biotechnologies: Startup expands seed round to EUR 10 million