Public Funding for Econic Technologies Ltd

Few carbon sequestration projects offer useful end products. We do. Few carbon sequestration projects create value. We do. Rather than using oil to create plastics; what if we could use CO2 instead. Econic enable precisely this; we have created a high value catalyst which enables our customers to replace their precursor chemical feedstocks (the building blocks of plastics) with CO2. Polyurethanes are used in a vast array of end-products; from low-density flexible foams (for furniture, seating), to insulation and construction; from elastomers for footwear to coatings for the automotive industry. However, because most polyurethane products have long life times and are extremely hard to separate they are very challenging to recycle. The high performance properties of PU mean there are a lack of good alternatives, and so we are using more polyurethane products than ever before. This has created a dilemma; in a world where we must increase our sustainability how can we tackle polyurethanes? Econic believe this is through the replacement of oil with CO2. By creating products comprised of waste CO2 (upto 50%) we can reduce our dependence on virgin hydrocarbons and sequester a problematic greenhouse gas: improving the environmental credentials of the polymer industry. To achieve this we have created an innovative catalytic system, which doesn't require new chemical processing facilities. This project creates the next generation of our catalytic product; greatly reducing its cost, increasing its potential applicability and reducing arising waste.

Econic's innovative catalyst technology allows 10-43wt% of high cost fossil-based feedstock to be replaced with significantly lower cost captured CO2 to produce polyols, the building blocks for polyurethane, at lower cost, with enhanced properties and more sustainably. The process to produce polyols using this patent protected catalyst technology is operated on demonstration unit scale (65L) validating that the process operates efficiently at low pressure, uniquely enabling retrofit to existing polyether polyol production assets and producing stable materials with matching or better performance characteristics. This proposal builds upon that foundational catalyst technology(TRL6); developing additional catalyst recovery, recycling and regeneration innovations which will enhance the economics of catalyst production and provide an additional circular recovery loop in the value chain. This project validates a catalyst recycling process: capturing and regenerating spent catalyst to enable multiple uses, significantly reducing volumes of virgin material manufactured, feedstock usage, manufacturing complexity and reducing hazardous waste from the polymerisation process. This will significantly reduce catalyst manufacturing costs and further savings will be realised in our customer's waste treatment costs. By increasing sustainability of the process we reduce barriers to adoption and establish a platform for Econic and polyol producers to operate a circular economy model. To date, we have demonstrated lab-scale (TRL2) feasibility of multiple conceptual routes for catalyst recovery and regeneration achieving 'as-new' catalytic performance. Forward development requires demonstrator (TRL6) scale processes to address key technical challenges for efficient scale-up and optimised performance. This will bring catalyst recycling TRL in line with the core process. Econic relies on global partnerships to drive commercialisation. Suspension of a leading European customer partner's R&D activities, as a direct result of Covid-19 impact on their business, has suspended scheduled to semi-commercial scale trials to validate the Econic technology (including catalyst recovery process) at scale. Delaying parallel activities with toll manufacturers to develop catalyst recovery supply chain and validate economics. Econic must bring this work inhouse to ensure completion of the programme to validate the recovery and recycle process and meet license timelines of other pipeline customers. The work is essential to maintain the pace of commercialisation of the technology which underpins the delivery of Econic's business plan and continued investment on its growth pathway.

Econic Technologies is developing a breakthrough family of catalysts that incorporate carbon dioxide (CO2) into economically viable polymers, replacing 30-43% of the non-renewable raw materials, thus significantly reducing carbon footprint, offering new, high-value properties, costs savings and potentially increasing market acceptance. This project - "NovCAT" - will examine the technical and market feasibility of extending adoption of Econics novel catalysts for the production and downstream market acceptance of polycarbonate and thermoplastic blends. The innovative catalyst technology will enable inherently safer, low-carbon thermoplastic polycarbonates with enhanced properties to be manufactured from the co-polymerisation of epoxides and CO2 to produce novel polycarbonates such as polycyclohexene carbonate and polypropylene carbonate. Currently polycarbonate is manufactured through a process combining phosgene and bisphenol A (BPA). These constituents are non-renewable, hazardous and toxic. BPA exhibits hormone-like properties that can cause potential adverse health effects. BPA-free PC products will remove public safety concerns for food packaging and storage due to leaching of BPA. Phosgene-free processes will be more economical, and present significant OH&S benefits, with the elimination of inline phosgene production and associated safety measures. The new catalyst has already been demonstrated to be highly robust to typical contaminations within captured waste CO2, which is readily available from power production or other manufacturing processes. Customers will be interested in adopting such a catalyst to achieve the combination of improved polymer sustainability and cost structure, with high-value characteristics in areas such as high barrier properties for food packaging, UV resistance, clarity, flame retardant properties, and process safety and public health benefits from removal of toxic materials

Utilising Carbon Dioxide as a chemical feedstock for polymers is an attractive proposition that scientists have investigated for 40 years. Whilst CO2 is an abundant natural product and a problem waste emission from many chemical and energy production processes, it is in a very low energy state and difficult to react. However Econic Technologies Ltd, an Imperial College London spin off, has developed a catalyst technology that enables copolymerisation of CO2 into polymers, with low energy requirements in a low pressure process. The potential application for the polymer products include furniture, building insulation, car parts and home appliances. In a project, part funded by the Technology Strategy Board, Econic technologies have created and will lead a supply-chain consortium, that includes a UK based specialty chemicals manufacturer to scale up catalyst production, a leading multinational polymer supplier to test and scale up the products, and world-class academic CO2-polymerisation experts from Imperial College London who will study novel catalysts and mechanisms. This research project will accelerate time to market enhancing UK catalyst sales revenues.