Eschborn, Germany, September 2022

The CO2BioClean GmbH has kicked off an EU-funded project, that aims to develop fully biodegradable, CO2-based textile materials for use in the clothing industries over the next three years.

Industrial CO2 emissions can be captured on-site at industrial plants, e.g. in the cement and chemistry industry amongst other energy-intense manufacturing sectors, before they are released into the atmosphere and converted into Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolymer through our patented fermentation process. PHA is the raw material for the production of textile fibres from which sustainable consumer products (e.g. for the fashion industry) with a positive CO2 footprint are obtained.

PHA is biodegradable within one year through composting or in the sea. Our solution saves CO2, removes it from the atmosphere and prevents pollution of the environment with (micro)plastic. The fermentation process is performed by naturally occurring, non-pathogenic, gram-negative microorganisms. For the first time, we enable the upcycling of CO2 emissions into biodegradable fibres, which reach the same end price as classical oil-based fibres.

The CO2TEXTILE project seeks to dramatically reduce the use of environmentally-harmful fossil-fuel-based textiles by developing a portfolio of high-performance bio-alternatives consisting of CO2-based biopolymers with adequate physical and chemical properties, not polluting waste water with long lasting plastic microfibers, contaminating the seas and waters and also harmful for the sea life and ultimately reducing the CO2 footprint for the textile materials.

The CO2TEXTILE projects is funded by the European Innovation Council of the EU and part of the HORIZON-EIC-2021-ACCELERATORCHALLENGES-01 programme, GA190182335.