Opus 12 (company)

Opus 12 is a chemical technology company based in Berkeley, California.[1] They develop technology to convert CO2 into profitable chemicals, such as plastics and transportation fuels.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Currently, the company uses metal catalysts to produce synthetic gas (syngas), methane, and ethylene.[8]

Opus 12
Founded2015 (2015)[1]
Founders
Websitewww.opus-12.com

History

Originally launched under the name Obtainium in 2014,[9] Opus 12 was officially founded in 2015 by Dr. Kendra Kuhl, Dr. Etosha Cave, and Nicholas Flanders.[1] The company was part of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's first Cyclotron Road cohort, an incubator program that aids in the creation of environmentally beneficial companies.[10][8][11] Since then, the company has won multiple awards including the Keeling Curve prize,[12] Ocean Exchange's WW Orcelle award,[13] the Roddenberry prize,[14] and Forbes' Change the World competition.[15][16] Opus 12 has received funding through SBIR grants for projects involving CO2 conversion. This includes generating products such as CO, polyethylene, ethanol, ethylene, methane, and jet fuel.[17]

The company has also been featured on the television show Inside Bill's Brain as a company providing a potential solution to greenhouse gas emissions.[18]

Technology

Nicholas Flanders describes the company's technology as "industrial photosynthesis" to create jet fuel and diesel from carbon dioxide.[19][20] Their technology has been shown to convert CO2 from raw biogas into carbon neutral methane.[21][22]

Opus 12 utilizes polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis, which splits apart water molecules into its component pieces (O2, electrons, and hydrogen ions) via the application of electricity. By adding a catalyst to the cathode, they are able to split up CO2 into CO and O2.[23]

In February 2020, Opus 12 partnered with Mercedes and Trinseo to create the world's first C-pillar made with polycarbonate from CO2 electrolysis.[24]

In June 2020, the company partnered with SoCalGas and PG&E to advance their technology for use with CO2 present in biogas, which comes from sources such as landfills, sewage, and dairy farms.[25] This gas, produced by the anaerobic breakdown of wastes, contains roughly 60% methane and 40% CO2; testing is being performed with the goal of achieving high conversion efficiency for long periods of time.[26]

Opus 12 plans to scale up their technology to an industrial-sized shipping container, which would enable them to produce larger quantities of product.[8][23][11]

References
  1. "Opus 12 About Page". Opus 12. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  2. "Startup Autobahn and the quest for the "Next Green Thing"". Daimler. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  3. Gallucci, Maria. "Investors are betting billions on carbontech. Will it pay off?". Grist. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  4. Bourzac, Katherine (July 25, 2016). "Can Chemists Turn Pollution into Gold?". Scientific American. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  5. Fountain, Henry (May 2, 2016). "Researchers Aim to Put Carbon Dioxide Back to Work". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  6. Speicher, Joe (July 28, 2017). "Innovative Solutions for Climate Change Need More than Money". Stanford Social Innovation Review. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  7. Kim, Jed (February 23, 2017). "Changing carbon from waste into gold". Marketplace. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  8. Soltoff, Ben (October 16, 2019). "Opus 12 is one startup on a mission to convert CO2 into useful products". GreenBiz. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  9. Fekri, Farnia (April 28, 2017). "Kendra Kuhl Is Building a Device That Turns Pollution Into Products". Vice. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  10. "All Projects: Alumni". Cyclotron Road.
  11. Satell, Greg (April 5, 2018). "Why Some of the Most Groundbreaking Technologies Are a Bad Fit for the Silicon Valley Funding Model". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  12. Langholz, Sasha (July 11, 2019). "Berkeley-based team wins prize for carbon dioxide reduction technology". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  13. "WW Orcelle® Award". Ocean Exchange. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  14. Schiller, Ben (March 8, 2017). "The First-Ever Roddenberry Prize Awards Companies Pushing Us Toward A Star Trek Future". Fast Company. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  15. Tindera, Michela (Oct 17, 2016). "Ashton Kutcher, Top VCs Pick Winners Of For-Profit Change The World Competition". Forbes. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  16. Sgarro, Katie (September 6, 2017). "Calling All Young Entrepreneurs: What You Need To Know About The Forbes Change The World Competition". Huffpost. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  17. "SBIR Company Details: Opus 12 Incorporated". SBIR. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  18. "Inside Bill's Brain". Inside Bill's Brain. Season 1. Episode 3. 11 minutes in. Netflix.
  19. Switalski, Caitie (October 31, 2019). "Not Only For Vessels: Fort Lauderdale Boat Show Connects Environmental Entrepreneurs With Funders". WLRN Public Radio and Television. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  20. Harris, Mark (September 14, 2017). "The entrepreneurs turning carbon dioxide into fuels". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  21. Bailey, Melissa. "SoCalGas and Opus 12 Successfully Demonstrate Technology That Simplifies Conversion of Carbon Dioxide into Storable Renewable Energy". Sempra Energy. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  22. Smith, Maurice. "Opus 12 and SoCalGas simplify conversion of CO2 into storable renewable energy". JWN Energy. JWN Energy. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  23. Service, Robert (September 19, 2019). "Can the world make the chemicals it needs without oil?". Science Magazine. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  24. "Pulse GX50 Contributes to Daimler's CO2 Made C Pillar Made from Carbon Dioxide". Trinseo now.connect. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  25. Burgess, Molly (23 June 2020). "Consortium to convert CO2 into renewable fuel". gasworld. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  26. "PG&E, SoCalGas and Opus 12 Announce Advancements in Technology that Converts Carbon Dioxide to Renewable Natural Gas". Currents. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
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