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Twelve (company)

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Opus 12
Founded2015; 9 years ago (2015)[1]
Founders
Websitewww.opus-12.com

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]

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. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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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