Teysha Technologies has spent over a decade researching sustainable bioplastic solutions that can offer an eco-friendly alternative to plastics, with a view to reducing or eventually eliminating plastic waste and pollution.
In 2019, after attending the K 2019 Trade Fair, the Texas A&M team returned with lots of news about trends in the global plastics industry. An overview of the K Trade fair can be seen in the embedded short video.
Many of the featured product launches in 2019 revolved around the buzzwords of ‘sustainability’ and ‘the circular economy’, with the plastics industry working to embed sustainability into new products.
Texas A&M University has teamed up with Teysha Technologies via a sponsored research agreement, working to harness the plug-and-play bioplastics platform developed and patented by Teysha Technologies. The partnership between the two companies brings together years of leading research into sustainable bioplastics, creating new opportunities for solving the world’s plastics pollution problem.
Duncan Clark, Teysha Technologies’ Head of Business Operations, has several business interests closely linked to a more sustainable future.
Multidisciplinary Research
Teams from both Texas A&M and Teysha Technologies have been conducting multidisciplinary research into sustainable polycarbonates. The need for sustainable alternatives to plastic can be seen in the plastic pollution facts and figures in the infographic attachment.
After Teysha Technologies contacted Texas A&M in May 2017, chemist Karen Wooley and assistant research scientist Ashlee Jahnke joined the board of the UK-based start-up, bringing successful research into the creation of sustainable polycarbonates derived from synthetic transformation of renewable bio-sourced feedstocks such as sugars and other materials to the table. Teysha Technologies licensed intellectual property from the Texas A&M University System surrounding bioplastics technology.
Sustainable Polycarbonate Platform
The Teysha Technologies platform for developing sustainable polycarbonates is described as a ‘plug-and-play’ platform, as the polymers being produced can have their properties modified by combining a variety of additives, therefore allowing for a comprehensive range of plastic alternative solutions to be produced. This allows for both biodegradability and tunable durability, setting the platform apart from other bioplastics solutions being developed elsewhere. The polymers developed with the Teysha Technologies platform are characterised by their diverse range of sizes, shapes and fabrication methods, and feature a wide variety of mechanical, physical and chemical properties. This means the finished products can be tailormade to suit the situation and achieve the desired outcome.
The Circular Economy
The circular economy refers to an economic system designed to eliminate or significantly reduce waste through the continual use and reuse of resources. In a linear economy, which is what most of the world has now, products are developed, used and then discarded, causing waste and pollution. In a circular economy, new product development would have a primary focus on facilitating reusing, recycling, repairing and reducing waste, creating a closed loop whereby fewer resources are required, and the productivity of all resources is improved. All waste products that would previously have been discarded instead become ingredients for the development of new products, following a regenerative approach in direct contrast to the ‘take, make, dispose’ approach of the linear economy.
About Texas A&M
Texas A&M is a public research university founded in 1876 in College Station, Texas. The university is the only institution in Texas to hold designation as a land, sea and space grant institution, leading the way in many important areas of research. It is classified as a Doctoral University of R1 class, meaning very high research activity.
More information about Teysha Technologies can be seen in the PDF attachment to this post.