EveryCarbon wins FLAIR subcontract to scale fossil-independent materials production

EveryCarbon, a company developing high-performance polyester materials for industrial and construction use, has secured a subcontract to scale its production process under the FLAIR project led by Technische Universität Hamburg. The project aims to convert food-processing side-streams into high-value functional materials through process-integrated recycling, with a focus on scaling laboratory-developed circular diol production to a 10,000-litre industrial pilot at Popp Feinkost.

This step is crucial in bringing new materials platforms to market, as it reduces capital costs and time required for industrial scale-up while enhancing supply resilience for buyers with volatile fossil-derived supply chains. The project will be staged, starting with retrofitting an existing 10 m³ tank at Popp Feinkost to enable waste hydrolysis and integrating it with the facility's gas and hot water systems.

Once the industrial fermentation system is operational, food waste hydrolysate will be transported to the pilot facility in Stuttgart for further conversion to ECOne engineering resins. EveryCarbon's CEO and Co-Founder, Sebastian Beblawy, emphasized the significance of scaling up to demonstrate the potential of repurposing existing industrial infrastructure to reduce dependence on fossil-derived materials.

Prof. Johannes Gescher, Head of the Institute of Technical Microbiology at TU Hamburg, highlighted the project's potential to transition fermentation science from the lab to industrial-scale production, creating materials with genuine industrial relevance.