The circle of it: This company transforms wood waste and transform them into carbon-negative thermoplastics that can be used for various applications, and saves carbon dioxide emissions from being released into the environment.
made of air
Summary
Made of Air produces durable material from a waste material: wood waste. The process locks up carbon for long periods of time that results in a hardened carbon-negative thermoplastic. This carbon sequestration product could be an alternative to fossil-based thermoplastics. The company’s feedstock is a biomass waste stream from forestry (sawdust, and small chip sizes) that would otherwise be destined for landfills, gasified or burned. This would have also results in the loss of CO2 storage in the material. The company uses these waste materials and in the process of making it into biochar, takes the CO2 in the material and converting it into a version of elemental carbon. This elemental carbon is locked into the material and does not end up becoming CO2 that is released into the environment. The company is also looking at other types of biomass where a similar process could be applied. (Source)
Story
Co -founders Allison Dring, Daniel Schwaag and Neema Shams were all interested in the concept of carbon capture so less carbon dioxide is released into the environment. Dring’s background in architecture exposed here to the concept where a previous company used photocatalytic technology to make the air cleaner. Inspired by such examples, the co-founders started to look at carbon removal strategies and zeroed in on biochar, which can be embedded in different materials. After prototyping with different materials, they found a composition that forms the basis for Made of Air.
Pic Credit: Dezeen (right) and Carbon Herald (top)
“We essentially try to look at it as there’s a natural process in the CO2 going back into the air as the biomass starts to decompose and what we’re doing is interrupting that cycle — to save the CO2 from going back in the air.”
Allison Dring in an interview
Founder(s)
Allison Dring, Daniel Schwaag and Neema Shams
Headquarters
Berlin, Germany
In business since
2016
Business type
for profit
Impact
For every ton of material that the company makes, roughly 2 tons of CO2 are taken out of the air. (Source)
Technology
wood waste conversion to biochar, creating thermoplastic from biochar, decarbonizing
Material
wood waste, biochar
Website
The Circular People 
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