Page 59 - Plastics News December 2017

TECHNOLOGY

Technology firm Zymergen

developing new materials using
microbes

California based Zymergen Inc. has
been exploring technology for making
specialty polymers using genetically
engineered microbes.Now the
company is preparing for its first
products to go commercial. Richard
Pieters, president of Zymergen's
products business, said customers
are sampling materials now. He
expects to announce commercial
applications in the next half year or so. Zymergen isn't
looking for run-of-the-mill applications. It's not about
replacing commodity plastics or metals.
"For example, there are companies trying to make scratch-
resistant cell phone screens that are also flexible. You
need a new polymer to do that," Pieters said. "There are
thousands of opportunities," he said. "We have quite a
pipeline of products in development." Without getting
specific, he mentioned applications in electric vehicles,
consumer electronics and military products. Zymergen's
technology makes industrial chemicals from single-cell
microbes. The basic science is fairly inexpensive — Pieters
compares it to brewing beer. Yeast converts grain to
alcohol at relatively low temperatures and pressures. It's
not nearly as complex as a typical polymer plant. But it's
not as simple as using yeast to make plastics. Zymergen
is using genetic engineering to reprogram the DNA of
microbes, then tests them in the lab to see if they have
the ability to create useful raw materials, like polymers,
adhesives or coatings. What makes Zymergen unique is that
its experiments are automated. This gives the company the
ability to test thousands of trials a week, and to focus on
the combination of DNA changes that create the best end
product. For some customers, the sustainability message
is important — Zymergen allows them to make polymers
from renewable materials instead of petrochemicals. But
that's not a critical part of the company's message, Pieters
said. He's more focused on creating unique polymers with
properties that can't be matched by conventional plastics.
Zymergen also is looking for companies and applications
that can benefit from its unique technology. Zymergen is
talking to companies that make high-end films, and he is
interested in firms that make innovative polymer coatings.

59 December 2017 Plastics News