Advocating for Public Policies to Promote the Development & Production of Alternative Fuels, Renewable Chemicals, Biobased Products, and Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Alternative Fuels & Chemicals Coalition
Track 3 Session Details
AFCC Conference Breakout Sessions
Breakout Sessions are 90 minutes, each one has one moderator with a maximum of four to five speakerss.
Breakout sessions will be focused on the following five subject areas:
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Track 2: Sustainable Feedstocks, Biofuels, Food and Feed Products Driving Decarbonization
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Track 3: Renewable Specialty Chemicals
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Track 4: Synthetic Biology, Alternative Proteins, Regenerative Agriculture, Food & Fiber, Biofuels
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Track 5: Building the Biobased Economy Supply Chain
Track 3 Breakout Session Details​
Renewable Specialty Chemicals
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This Track is Sponsored by:
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Monday, November 13, 2023
All sessions for this Track will be held in Baltimore 3
​Session 1: 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM: Sustainable Supply Chain Strategies and Management for Manufacturers
Moderator: Andy Shafer, Chief Marketing, Customer and Brand Officer, GEVO
Speakers:
Peter Jackman
Director
Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox
Frederyk Ngantung
Chief Commercial Officer, Syzygy Plasmonics
​Companies in the bio-based products sector are pursuing a range of business models and technical approaches, including both biological and chemical conversion of bio-based feedstocks, and are at various stages in their life cycles. This panel will feature firms illustrating a variety of these approaches at varying stages of maturity, with focus on the varying opportunities and challenges faced.
Lana Culbert, Senior Director Global Marketing, Kraton Corporation
Kraton SYLVASOLV™ Biobased Oils - Aligning Sustainability with High-Performance Innovation
As the world's largest producer of pine chemicals, and with nearly 100 years of biorefinery experience, Kraton is a global forerunner in the bioeconomy. Our materials are used in thousands of everyday products that enhance lives worldwide. We are a participant in the USDA BioPreferred® Program, for our biobased products to be identified. Our EcoVadis Platinum rating solidifies Kraton’s position as a trusted, sustainable supplier as we continue to provide solutions that enable the circular economy. At Kraton, our commitment is also about developing new innovative solutions that advance the sustainability of our customers’ products and applications. Introducing SYLVASOLV biobased oils, a Kraton product innovation that enables safer handling and provides unparalleled performance and sustainability benefits across diverse industries. Leveraging the unique properties of pine chemistry, these 100% biobased oils offer high solvency power and excellent lubrication properties. Moreover, they exhibit superior cold temperature properties, making them ideal for various product formulations. Sourced from responsibly managed pine forests and benefitting from the Kraft pulp industrial symbiosis derived from the Kraft pulp industry, these bio-oils do not require land-use change, are non-food sourced and are non-GMO. SYLVASOLV oils have many applications, including cleaning solvents, coatings, fertilizer coatings, defoamers, and lubricants. Kraton is committed to do our part to promote and protect the sustainability of our planet. We look forward to share more about how our Sylvasolv biobased oils are part of the solution.
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Peter Jackman, Director, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox
Challenges and Opportunities for Bio-Based Product Manufacturers
A company’s intellectual property is its number one asset. Navigating between your own patent exclusivity and third party patents is ripe with challenges and opportunities. Should companies pursue patent or trade secret protection for their sustainable technologies? Are certain aspects of your company's technologies even eligible for patent protection? Do you have freedom to operate in view of third party patents? There have been significant court and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office updates that significantly impact these issues. The presentation will discuss these recent updates as well as best practices to maximize IP protection and minimize invalidation and infringement risks.
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Frederyk Ngantung, Chief Commercial Officer, Syzygy Plasmonics
Using light and RNG to lower the carbon signature in chemicals and fuels
Photocatalytic dry methane reforming uses light instead of combustion to produce syngas from methane and CO2. When utilizing renewable natural gas and renewable electricity, this new method enables the production of intensely carbon-negative syngas, helping decarbonize chemicals and fuels. The technology was first introduced in the journal Nature in January 2020 in a paper titled, “Light-driven methane dry reforming with single atomic site antenna-reactor plasmonic photocatalysts,” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-019-0517-9, and has since been repeated and further tested by Rice University and Syzygy Plasmonics. As the technology nears commercialization, it offers a pathway for using biogas to produce chemicals and fuels from carbon-negative syngas, helping create a cleaner, more sustainable planet.
Session 2: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM: Sustainable Cosmetics and Personal Care Ingredients
Moderator: Carolyn Fitz, President, Sage BioAdvisors
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Patrick Foley, Chief Scientific Officer, P2 Science
Green Chemistry Driven Performance
Cosmetics and personal care ingredients are being held to ever higher standards by regulators, formulators, and consumers alike. With these increasing expectations come opportunities for innovation in the field of green chemistry. Green chemistry drives performance and creates solutions that can deliver benefits to all stakeholders. Over the past 10+ years, P2 has developed, patented, scaled, and brought to market multiple new technologies in this field, and are set to continue to lead into the 21st century. Highlighted will be 2 key platforms - PIOzTM and PICETM - that give rise to key new materials such as the CitropolTM line of cosmetic polymers, and illustrate the potential of this approach
Amanda Hildebrand, VP of Fermentation, Exopolymer Inc
Novel Biopolymer for Personal Care
ExoPolymer is a biotech startup company focused on creating next-generation, custom biopolymers for the food, energy, healthcare, and personal care markets. ExoPolymer’s unique biological platform allows for the safe, robust, and economical production of biopolymers with superior performance and consistency in comparison to incumbent products. Our first target market is in personal care, where we have identified a novel biopolymer that provides superior moisturization. Personal care is an attractive market for initial commercialization for a number of reasons. (1) The segment is receptive to early and rapid adoption of new ingredients that enable differentiation from competitors. (2) High-performance personal care ingredients typically command a higher value than those in commodity segments. (3) Regulatory requirements for new personal care ingredients are substantially less stringent than those in the food and material sectors, allowing for a shorter path to commercial sales. This presentation will highlight our overall strategy to provide new biopolymer ingredient solutions and focus on our approach to delivering unique solutions to the cosmetics market.
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Erika M. Milczek, CEO, Curie Co.
Directed Evolution of Enzymes for Antimicrobial Applications
Regulatory authorities and retailers are aggressively restricting the use antimicrobial chemicals found in consumer products and industrial processes. Specifically, these bans are targeting antimicrobial chemicals that have deleterious effects on the environment and human health. Major retailers have followed suit by further banning numerous preservatives and biocides commonly used in consumer products. Manufacturers have few alternatives to these legacy chemicals, which are readily found in paints, personal care products, and household cleaning products. Curie Co has developed a suite of tools to rapidly evolve enzymes to deliver aseptilase activity to displace legacy antimicrobial chemicals. Development of these tools addresses a gap in currentErika M. Milczek, PhD Curie Co methodology by providing a toolbox for the rapid expression and selection of antimicrobial proteins and enzymes that are not readily produced using microbial fermentation. Enzymes are catalytic, evolvable, and biodegradable, which provides a cost effective and environmentally benign replacement for antimicrobial chemicals.
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Basudeb Saha, CEO, RiKarbon
Biomass derived Green Emollient for Cosmetic Formulation
Emollient is used in various cosmetics to solubilize emulsifiers in water-oil emulsions to provide desired aesthetic and efficacy in terms of its spreadability and a feel for dry, shiny, silky and talc. The chemistry of emollient, and their application in cosmetics formulation have evolved over the years. One of the noticeable changes is the widespread use of cyclic silicones. While these cyclic compounds serve the most needs of cosmetic products formulation, they have been highly scrutinized in recent years for their safety and bio-accumulation concerns, and their use in most wash-off cosmetics is regulated and restricted. In addition, generations X and Z consumers’ preference for natural, non-silicon clean beauty products has increased over the last decade. As a result, alternative non-silicon ingredients such as various ester compounds and others have been looked into by cosmetics manufacturers and formulators. However, most of these alternative ingredients are not derived from biomass raw materials, and especially not from non-food, and sustainable, typically waste raw materials. Most ester compounds have inferior performance and stability. RiKarbon’s UpSycal emollients comprised of up to 100% biobased and upcycled carbon, sourced from agricultural waste materials/non-edible feedstock, and are manufactured with Green Chemistry principles. This squalane-like product line can be viewed as a biobased alternative to silicone compounds, petroleum-derived hydrocarbons and esters allowing the formulation of more natural, sustainable, stable, and label-friendly cosmetics with aesthetics, safety, and performance. This presentation will highlight UpSycal emollient’s features, formulation and sustainability data.
Session 3: 1:30 PM to 3 PM: Biotech and the ESG Missions of Brand Owners
Moderator: Rebecca Coons, S&P Global Commodity Insights
Speakers:
In today’s world, there’s a triple bottom-line: People, Planet and Prosperity. Brand owners must create value for their shareholders, while implementing sound Environment, Social & Governance plans. What role can biotechnology play? How can biotechnology companies deliver products and processes that enable brand owners to achieve their ESG missions? The answer is complex and varies from one sector to another. In this panel, biotech companies will describe their approach to developing more sustainable ingredients for products that we each use in our daily lives. For example, personal care and home care products. In addition, product formulators will offer perspective on areas where biotech might have the greatest positive impact.
Paul S Dyer, Professor of Fungal Biology, University of Nottingham
Use of Filamentous Fungi for Production of Sustainable Biomolecules
Filamentous fungi have many beneficial characteristics for use in biotechnological applications. Many species can be grown relatively easy at large-scale and on a wide variety of fermentation feedstocks. Certain species have been shown to be capable of producing commercially valuable biomolecules as an alternative to production from fossil fuels and other chemical routes. Two examples will be presented to show the potential for fungal systems. The first involves the production of itaconic acid (an important platform for production of resins, paints, plastics, cleaning products and beyond) by Aspergillus terreus. A diversity of natural strains of A. terreus were screened for production of itaconic acid on a defined glucose medium and strains with high yields identified. It was then found for certain strains that acid hydrolysates of sorghum bran waste could be used to provide a feedstock for fermentations leading to production of relatively high yields of itaconic acid, providing an example of valorisation of a waste material for biological chemical production. The second involves the production of pigments from the blue-cheese fungus Penicillium roqueforti. Genetic analysis was used to identify the biosynthetic pathway involved with DHN-melanin production in P. roqueforti. A combination of UV-mutagenesis and gene disruption was then used to produce strains blocked at different stages in the pigment production pathway, resulting in strains with white, yellow-green, red-brown, dark brown and blue colourations. This offers the possibility of extraction of naturally derived pigments, again as an alternative to synthetic chemical-derived means.
Christian Lenges, Venture Director, International Flavors & Fragrances
Sustainable solutions that Transform Consumers’ Lives and Experiences: Biotechnology in Sustainable Material Innovation
International Flavors and Fragrances is a leading creator, innovator and manufacturer for food, beverage, health & biosciences, scent and pharma solutions markets. This includes the development and supply of cosmetic active and natural health ingredients used in a wide variety of consumer products. IFF products are sold globally to manufacturers of dairy, meat, beverages, snacks, savory, sweet, baked goods and other foods. In addition, IFF is serving the specialty product markets in personal and home care such as soaps and detergents, cleaning products, perfumes and cosmetics. Emerging and growing categories such as dietary supplements, and functional foods as well as pharmaceutical and oral care products. Leveraging innovation across these market and product categories is driving sustainable growth and biotechnology takes center stage as enabling platform technology. Creating a better world at IFF means understanding how we can leverage our business, our performance and our partners to Do More Good for people and planet. Overall, momentum is building for a transition to inherently more sustainable product and material choices manufactured in processes with reduced impact but without compromising product performance expected by consumers. This is driving the continued need for material and product innovation which is enabled through the circular bioeconomy and is designed to avoid undesired end-of-life characteristics. This presentation will highlight efforts at IFF to take biotechnology driven material innovation to scale through biomanufacturing starting from fungible plant sugars for tailored high performance materials that facilitate the transition to a more sustainable fossil free economy.
Session 4: 3:30 PM to 5 PM: New Biobased Product Alternatives for Industrial Applications
Moderator: Brent Aufdembrink, Applications Technical Director, Cargill
Speakers:
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President Midwest Bioprocessing Center and President & CEO zuChem Inc
Biotechnology is increasingly emerging as a game-changer in various industries, including personal care, materials, textiles, plastics, polymers, and other industrial sectors, by offering innovative solutions to produce new, sustainably produced ingredients that can replace petroleum-based products. In personal care, biotech applications have facilitated the development of bioactive compounds, enzymes, and microbial-derived substances that enhance the efficacy and sustainability of skincare products. These advancements have significantly reduced environmental impact and opened possibilities for eco-friendly manufacturing. This session will focus on strategies and advances to produce these biobased as well as commercialization challenges and opportunities for these products.
William Armiger, President, BioChemInsights, Inc.
Advanced Bioreactor Technology for Sustainable Chemical and Fuel Production
The proprietary 21st century ElectroChemical BioReactor (ECB) Platform from SynAppBio (SAB) solves the issues and limitations of using fermentation for manufacturing fuels and chemicals via Industrial Biotechnology. These are • Low theoretical reaction yields in microbial processes Typically, the maximum theoretical yield ranges from 33-50% for most products • Poor volumetric productivities from slow reactions Fermentation productivity usually ranges from 0.5 to 2.5 grams/ liter-hour • Low product concentrations in complex aqueous solutions Product titers usually range from 2-10% • Use of batch reactors instead of continuous processing Batch processing generally requires larger tanks and is more labor intensive SAB’s technical vision starts with CO2 reduction. Our proprietary technology and know-how apply the direct use of electricity to provide the required reducing equivalents to create formate in the electrolyzer. The proprietary process uses the formate as the carbon feedstock in the cathode chamber of the ECB System, which is uniquely designed to employ redox enzymes. Components of the technology are the subject of six patents or patent applications licensed by SAB from BioChemInsights, to move toward building four-carbon and six-carbon molecules. There are ready markets for these products that are in short supply because many refineries are shifting from petroleum to shale gas which is almost entirely C1 and C2 carbon molecules. SAB’s technology can also take NAD to NADH electrochemically, thus providing reducing equivalents to reactions catalyzed by single enzymes that require reduced cofactors.
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Tom Beardslee, CEO, Rynetech Bio
A new Fermentation Platform for the Production of Terpenes from Fatty Acid Feedstock
Terpenes are a large class of molecules with a range of properties making them useful products as fragrances, flavors, nutraceuticals, food colorants, and antioxidants. Many are produced by plants however are often present at very low concentrations making it too expensive to purify them from their native source. Some terpenes have been produced by precision fermentation previously, however many other attempts have suffered from low titers and yields. Rynetech Bio has built a platform technology for terpene production from fatty acid feedstocks using a nontraditional yeast. The first demonstration of the platform has been performed with carotenoids which are 40-carbon terpenes known for their bright colors and antioxidant properties (lycopene, beta-carotene, astaxanthin). The global carotenoid market is approximately $1.5B with applications in nutraceuticals, personal care, animal feed, and food additives. Large volume carotenoids are produced from fossil-based sources by chemical synthesis while specialty carotenoids may be purified from their native source. The Rynetech Bio platform produces carotenoids from feedstocks that are renewable, and potentially inexpensive waste streams, as well as using less land and water than purification from agricultural crops. Five carotenoids have been produced at commercial titers derived from engineered platform strains that can be alternately engineered for other terpenes in the future. This presentation will update current progress and explain advantages of using fatty acid feedstocks for terpene production.
Tim Staub, CEO, Pleroma Biosciences
Imagine a world without antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
AMR remains one of the top 10 health threats facing humanity today. AMR is also a threat to the global economy, with impact on international trade, health care costs, and productivity. The World Health Organization estimates that without aggressive action, AMR could cost the world’s economy $100 trillion by 2050. The existing R&D pipeline for new antibacterials is insufficient to tackle the challenge.
The team at Pleroma Biosciences has produced an exciting breakthrough – an unconventional pathway to novel, bio-based molecules, with three inputs, that create an elegant, readily scalable, two-to-three step process to produce over 250 molecules – antimicrobials, preservatives, surfactants, emulsifiers, dispersants – and human therapeutics. More than $87 billion in market opportunity. We call it XYZ.
Our technology transforms life’s simplest building blocks into powerful tools using the most abundant element in the known universe. This patent-pending technology has been validated with industry-leading collaborators and provides an entirely new pathway to bio-based, high-performance molecules – 100% renewable carbon, readily biodegradable, with three commodity chemical inputs, and known chemistry in 2-3 steps that is readily scalable and atom-efficient, following the principles of Green Chemistry.
With this minimalism, we have precise control. Antimicrobials and biocides that act as trojan horses - mimicking essential nutrients while preventing the proliferation of pathogens. High-performance surfactants, emulsifiers, dispersants designed by green principles to be eco-friendly and biocompatible.
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
All sessions for this Track will be held in Baltimore 3
​Session 5: 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM: Opportunities and Challenges in Bio-based Products
Moderator: James Barber, Independent Management Consulting Professional
Speakers:
Companies in the bio-based products sector are pursuing a range of business models and technical approaches, including both biological and chemical conversion of bio-based feedstocks, and are at various stages in their life cycles. This panel will feature firms illustrating a variety of these approaches at varying stages of maturity, with focus on the varying opportunities and challenges faced.
​Session 6: 3:30 PM to 5 PM : Enzymolysis and Fermentation Trends to New Renewable Chemicals
Moderator: James LaMarta, Principal Consultant, Splitrock Regulatory Solutions
Speakers:
The latest fermentation processes in protein engineering and site-directed evolution have enabled tailor-made enzymes with new activities and/or for new process conditions leading to highly diversified products. Some newer areas for enzyme applications and fermentation trends are presented in this session – whether it be for production of cleaning solvents for commodity applications to high value and low volume applications.
Ken Barrett, Chief Business Officer, Arzeda
Intelligent Protein Design™ Technology
The need for biobased, renewable chemicals has never been greater, or more urgent. According to the OECD, plastics pollution has more than doubled the past decade, and now exceeds 460 million tons per year. The vast majority of this is virgin material made from fossil fuels, which means the world is pulling more carbon out of the ground, rather than creating a carbon sink. In addition, most of these plastics are not recycled and are not biodegradable. Bold solutions are needed now.
Arzeda has been leveraging our Intelligent Protein Design™ Technology to harness the power of AI, computational protein design and synthetic biology to develop new materials. We have developed cost-effective routes for bio-based FDCA, and the world’s first bio-based acylate (Bio-MBL™). Other products in our portfolio include the next generation of bio-based, biodegradable performance materials with a world leader in advanced materials, WL Gore & Associates, makers of Gore-Tex™. This presentation will focus on how we utilized our Intelligent Protein Design™ Technology to make these advances. We will also explore how the power of generative AI, coupled with core protein domain know-how and experimental data, can transform our “Material World” towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.
Lewis Dutel, CEO, Via Biofuels
Decarbonizing the BTX Infrastructure
VIA specializes in producing a synthetic aromatic, 3-Methylanisole (3-MA). VIA is one of the only synthetic biotechnology companies capable of producing a scalable, biosourced aromatic of high purity. Synthetic 3-MA can be used as a feedstock to produce high value compounds such as Methylcyclohexane(MCH) and Toluene. Biosourced Toluene provides a route to decarbonize the existing BTX infrastructure. 3-MA, MCH and Toluene are energy dense molecules that can be used today in renewable transportation fuels with blend concentrations as high as 85%. Utilizing a proprietary, engineered S. cerevisiae yeast strain, feedstocks such as starch, sugar and cellulosic sugars are efficiently converted into this valuable aromatic. VIA’s 3-MA commercial strategy is to leverage production through the existing S. cerevisiae based Ethanol infrastructure. 3-MA is a highly hydrophobic molecule. This hydrophobicity causes the 3-MA molecules to volatilize from the broth during the fermentation process. This mechanism provides an opportunity to “capture” the volatilized 3-MA as a continuous process during fermentation. Capturing 3-MA in process produces a high purity product and eliminates the energy intensive downstream distillation steps required for Ethanol manufacture. It also eliminates the toxicity factor associated with batch fermentation and allows 3-MA to be produced in in large volumes in both fed batch fermentation and “continuous fermentation” processes. These process technology advantages build a strong business case for the widespread commercialization of aromatic 3-MA.
Mark Johnson, External Affairs Lead, Liberation Labs
Importance of Scale Up of Precision Fermentation
Liberation Labs was formed to address the growing fermentation capacity gap in cellular agriculture by providing the industry with the infrastructure to commercialize novel protein manufacturing at the scale and cost structure required by the market. Specifically, Liberation Labs is developing a global network of fit-for-purpose precision fermentation facilities located in the geographies that will drive market access for novel protein companies to commercially succeed, enabling them to achieve price parity with animal proteins.
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Toni Lee, Senior Director of Enzymology, Solugen
The First Carbon-Negative Molecule Factory That Can Scale to Meet the World’s Needs
Synthetic biology holds the promise to revolutionize how we make chemicals, ingredients, and materials. But global scale manufacturing remains the largest impediment to realizing this revolution. Solugen was founded in 2016 to scale synthetic biology and decarbonize chemical manufacturing. By combining the best elements of fermentation with the best elements of petrochemical processing, we have created a unique carbon-negative molecular manufacturing platform: the Bioforge™. Leveraging the power of AI, the technology uses highly engineered enzymes together with heterogeneous metal catalysts under mild conditions that enable the use of safe biobased feedstocks such as sugar, air, and carbon dioxide. Solugen’s chemi-enzymatic processes achieve extremely high selectivities, throughputs, and yields. This eliminates the need for expensive carbon-intensive downstream separations and enables the modular construction of relatively small highly profitable manufacturing plants. In this presentation we will discuss the fundamental science and engineering underpinning the Bioforge™ platform, as well as case studies of Solugen products and their applications. Our first plant, Bioforge™ One, has been operational for over two years. At 10,000 tpy capacity, it is the first manufacturing plant permitted in Houston without wastewater discharge or greenhouse gas emissions. We are currently expanding the capacity of the plant in Houston while building additional plants to meet customer demand. We envision a future where a global network of modular and fully automated Bioforges™ enables the safe, local, and carbon negative manufacturing of the molecules, ingredients, and materials that we use every day.
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Bret Strogen, Government Partnerships Liaison, Visolis
Bio-based Production of Monomers for High Performance Polymers
Visolis is developing bio-based processes for production of carbon-negative, high-performance polymers and sustainable aviation fuels to replace petroleum based processes. The shift in the production of ethylene from naphtha to natural gas liquids (which does not produce C4-C6 by-products) has led to supply shocks and rising C4-C6 chemicals prices. Furthermore, these processes remain extremely energy intensive and reliant on fossil sources. Our process enables cost competitive production of bio-based elastomers, polyols, polyester resins, super adsorbent polymers, and other products using a variety of feedstocks like agri-residues, dextrose, glycerol and syn-gas. The high-yield process is a platform technology based on engineered microbes coupled with efficient processing. Furthermore, flexibility in the production process allows for rapid changes in the product mix in response to volatile market conditions reducing commercial risk much like a modern petroleum refinery. The Visolis process would reduce the production cost of various products by 20-40% relative to the petroleum-based equivalent, while reducing process greenhouse gas emissions by 70%. As a bio-based process, our technology uses the photosynthetic capability of plants to fix CO2 into structural materials that can sequester carbon for decades. Resin applications alone represent a carbon sink potential of over 200 million tons CO2e, equivalent to planting 2 billion trees.