Materials & Chemistry
Provide sustainable resources for our industry
The chemical industry is essential to most of our daily activities: from the materials that make up our objects, to hygiene and maintenance products, to fuels, to phytosanitary products. The chemical industry is responsible for 5% of greenhouse gas emissions globally, and the 3rd largest industry in terms of energy consumption.
What are the biggest challenges in this sector for the next decade ?
Among the many challenges facing the chemistry sector in the coming years, five seem to us to account for most of the environmental and societal impact:
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the sector, via energy optimization of processes and direct emissions of synthesis
- Increase in biobased inputs in synthesis routes, both for polymers and for fine chemicals products
- Development of recycling processes, particularly plastics and critical metals
- Development of processes with a reduced ecological footprint, for examples without solvents
- Synthesis of sustainable alternatives to compounds regulated by international standards
Why we believe deeptech can solve the biggest challenges ?
The research carried out within the laboratories covers many aspects and has the possibility of showing tangible proofs of concept, generally on a sub-kg scale. Chemistry is a field with strong scientific expertise, where disruptive innovations require a development environment available only in the most advanced public or private research laboratories.
Furthermore, the colossal industrial challenges have long brought to the sector a requirement for intellectual protection which quickly trims the ambitions of startups in the field.
What kind of project do we want to create there ?
We are looking for projects with the potential to have a very broad environmental, societal and economic impact. Here are some examples of topics that caught our attention:
- Synthesis of families of existing molecules with a reduced environmental impact (GHG, biodiversity), and a price comparable to existing ones on an industrial scale
- New synthesis routes (catalytic platforms, mechanical chemistry, microwave synthesis, plasma), especially without solvent
- Innovative materials with a reduced environmental footprint (concrete, polymers, composites)
- Recycling of plastics into platform molecules