42 min
The Regenerative Alternative to Plastic Who's Saving the Planet?
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- Nature
Imagine a substance which is as durable, malleable, and practical as plastic, except it's produced through extracting methane from the atmosphere, making it carbon negative, and is fully biodegradable by microorganisms, the same "as a leaf or a twig." No need to imagine it, just hop into a Target and you'll find Aircarbon cutlery on the shelves.
It's been a nearly two decade journey for CEO Mark Herrema, starting in a converted garage and landing, for the moment, behind the counter of Shake Shack. That's where you'll find Newlight's cutlery, made from their flagship product Aircarbon. In this episode we dig into the transformative potential of their technology, the moment of epiphany which lead to its creation, and the journey from an idea to a decades long struggle against doubt and biology. Today Newlight is an ascendent technology company with over $100 million in venture funding, but that's hardly how the story begins. Join us for this episode as Mark recounts their early beginnings, the fortitude to see it through and leaves us with a vision for a more sustainable future.
Imagine a substance which is as durable, malleable, and practical as plastic, except it's produced through extracting methane from the atmosphere, making it carbon negative, and is fully biodegradable by microorganisms, the same "as a leaf or a twig." No need to imagine it, just hop into a Target and you'll find Aircarbon cutlery on the shelves.
It's been a nearly two decade journey for CEO Mark Herrema, starting in a converted garage and landing, for the moment, behind the counter of Shake Shack. That's where you'll find Newlight's cutlery, made from their flagship product Aircarbon. In this episode we dig into the transformative potential of their technology, the moment of epiphany which lead to its creation, and the journey from an idea to a decades long struggle against doubt and biology. Today Newlight is an ascendent technology company with over $100 million in venture funding, but that's hardly how the story begins. Join us for this episode as Mark recounts their early beginnings, the fortitude to see it through and leaves us with a vision for a more sustainable future.
42 min