Based in New Haven, Connecticut, Protein Evolution, Inc. (PEI) is a company focused on transitioning the chemical industry to a low-carbon circular economy, which it claims is scrap fiber and mixed plastics. announced that it is a groundbreaking technology that can change infinitely. reusable resource.
The company says it is leveraging recent breakthroughs in natural science and artificial intelligence (AI) to design enzymes that break down used fiber and plastic materials into the building blocks that make up new fiber and plastic products. I’m here. According to PEI, its unique process is the first of its kind built to scale and will help the petrochemical industry, which wants to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, to reduce global consumption. We create cost-effective solutions that can be readily applied to goods companies, textile manufacturers, and more. .
Initial funding from entrepreneurs and industry leaders totals more than $20 million, according to PEI. The funding round was led by Collab SOS, a climate fund recently announced by the Collaborative Fund. Collab SOS has partnered with fashion designer girlfriend Stella McCartney. Additional funding comes from New Climate Ventures, Eldridge, Nextrans and Good Friends, and is backed by the founders of Warby Parker, Allbirds and Harry’s, according to PEI.
PEI Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer Connor Lynn said: “Today, it is much cheaper for petrochemical companies to produce new virgin plastic than to recycle existing materials. PEI has innovated a low-energy and cost-competitive process for upcycling finished plastics, which is poised to meet industry concerns and deliver significant environmental benefits. We are working hard to usher in a new era of truly sustainable and circular plastics.”
PEI says its technology repeatedly tests, evaluates and maps tens of millions of unique enzymes to identify the most effective ways to recycle materials into reusable chemicals. It says this approach will help decarbonize the chemical industry and, as a company, have a significant impact on the emerging bioeconomy. , communities and governments will have to meet global sustainability goals in the years to come.
The PEI team says it plans to launch its first commercial partnerships by the end of this year to address the needs of global consumer brands seeking to recycle and convert textiles and mixed plastic materials.
“Nature has already created bacteria that can break down plastics and recycle them without emissions, but it is very slow. “Our technology condenses a million years of evolutionary processes into a single day, creating an affordable, scalable and effective way to revolutionize the plastic waste industry.” It helps us to create a meaningful solution.”
PEI was founded in 2021 by Yale alumni Lynn and Stanky in partnership with scientist, entrepreneur and National Innovation Award winner Dr. Jonathan Rothberg. The company also partners with Connecticut-based life sciences accelerators ESPCI Paris and Guilford 4Catalyzer, whose purpose is to transform the world through bold innovations in medicine, engineering, machine learning, life sciences, and biotechnology. It is said that it is to have a positive impact.
