| Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are polyesters produced in nature by microorganisms like bacteria. For bacteria, PHAs serve as both a source of energy and as a carbon store. These plastics used on their own are incredibly biodegradable. When combined with the normal “live-forever” plastics derived from fossil-fuels, PHAs also makes the new co-polymer more degradable. The biggest obstacle to the wide-spread adoption of PHAs is cost. Luna and her brilliant Genecis team have created a revolutionary technology that significantly reduces this barrier: By using special recipes of highly efficient bacteria, the cost of production is reduced by over 40%. Now scaling up! |
