Replacing non-renewable derived materials: Achieving traction with the supply chain

In the $2.4bn global activated carbon market, the supply chain has been struggling for decades to find low greenhouse gas emission input materials to replace the old dirty sources. This is tricky because new materials must work perfectly in thousands of existing uses. Potential new feedstocks must be available in millions of tonnes and must be cheap. It is therefore not surprising that half of the feedstock used in industry still comes from sources with high greenhouse gas emissions.

We want our innovative agricultural by product and low-greenhouse gas pre-treatment to be the next bulk input materials for the low-greenhouse gas materials market. British farmers could pave the way to a $200 million 'greener' market for high-tech advanced materials, replacing a further 1.5 million tonnes of non-renewable raw material used each year.

This project will connect us to the supply chain using the biorefining facilities and expertise at the York Biorenewables Development Centre.