Newlight Technologies

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Impact 20 2023-Newlight Technologies

Many green technologies still leave a carbon footprint, but Newlight Technologies is creating one that’s designed to subtract from the global carbon supply. There are microorganisms found in California that eat greenhouse gases, like methane and carbon dioxide, as a food source, and grow a molecule inside their cells called PHB (polyhydroxybutyrate). When purified, PHB becomes meltable and moldable. Newlight is capturing PHB and using it to create “AirCarbon”—a carbon-negative material that can replace synthetic, fossil-based plastics. For every one kilogram of AirCarbon created, at least one kilogram of greenhouse gas is diverted.<br />
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Newlight distributes its AirCarbon-based products and materials—including fabrics and compostable drinking straws and cutlery—to over 5,000 locations worldwide, to partners in the fashion, entertainment, food-service, hotel, and auto industries. It has teamed up with companies like Nike to decarbonize their products and launched food-ware products with companies like Shake Shack and Target. Newlight raised $125 million in a funding round in August led by GenZero.

Newlight Technologies

Newlight Technologies in Fortune Rankings