AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Work
GOALS
Climate Action
KEYWORDS
green house gass, Material , emissions
COUNTRY
United States of America
DESIGNED BY
Markus (Mark) D. Herrema, Chief Executive Officer,
Newlight Technologies
WEBSITE
https://www.fastcodesign.com/product/aircarbon-technology
AirCarbon
AirCarbon is a plastic-like material made from greenhouse gas emissions.
AirCarbon is a plastic-like material made from greenhouse gas emissions. The material has been used in bags, furniture, cell phone cases, caps, and other products. Furniture giant Ikea is on board—the company has a contract with Newlight Technologies to use its carbon capture system to make 10 billion pounds of AirCarbon for use in Ikea products.
Newlight was founded in 2003 with a question: why can't we use greenhouse gas emissions as a resource to make materials?
Every day, plants and microorganisms use greenhouse gases to make useful materials, from carbon dioxide-capturing redwood trees and coral reefs to deep sea methane-capturing hydrothermal vent ecosystems.
Inspired by these carbon-capturing processes in nature, Newlight has developed, patented, and commercialized a carbon capture technology that combines air with methane emissions to produce a plastic material called AirCarbon