I’m sorry I missed posting on International Women’s Day as I was working on the Bio-Materials newsletter deadline. However, I always say better late than never so here is a list of women CEOs blazing trails in the (renewable) chemicals market. Please let me know if I missed somebody on this list!
AIR PROTEIN/KIVERDI – Lisa Dyson
Kiverdi was founded with a mission to commercialize sustainable resource utilization solutions by transforming carbon to make high-value oils, complete proteins, and other bio-based products. Kiverdi’s NASA-inspired technology uses microorganisms to transform carbon dioxide, along with other simple mineral nutrients and gases, into raw materials for everyday products, such as food ingredients, clothing, personal care items, and industrial goods.
AMERICAN PROCESS – Theodora Retsina
Founded in 1995 as an engineering consulting company to the forest products industry, and reincorporated in 2019 as a biomass and biorefinery technology and engineering company. American Process specializes in the development of technologies for the commercial production of sugars and ethanol from biomass.
C16 BIOSCIENCES – Shara Ticku
C16 was founded with the objective of creating a sustainable, environmentally friendly alternative to conflict palm oil. The company developed a technology to brew a sustainable alternative to palm oil from microbes. The product is 20% less expensive to customers and is produced in specialized bioreactors.
CARBON – Ellen Kullman
Carbon is a digital manufacturing platform reinventing how polymer products are designed, engineered, manufactured, and delivered towards a digital and sustainable future. With Carbon’s Digital Light Synthesis™ technology and broad family of programmable liquid resins, manufacturers can unlock new business opportunities such as mass customization, on-demand inventory, and previously impossible product designs. The Carbon Platform allows customers to build uniquely differentiated products while reducing waste and time to market.
CURIE CO. – Erika Milczek
Curie Co is a life science company that engineers enzymes and marine biomaterials to replace harmful and banned chemicals. The company uses enzyme engineering and recycled marine biomaterials to completely replace the FDA-banned chemicals with sustainable and safe ingredients.
DMC BIOTECHNOLOGIES – Carolyn Fritz (Chairman of the Board)
DMC Biotechnologies, Inc. operates as a biotechnology company. The Company develops a synthetic metabolic valve technology for rapid engineering of microbial hosts that enables the production of a broad diversity of specialty chemicals, flavors, fragrances, nutraceuticals, and other natural products.
GENERA ENERGY INC – Kelly Tiller
Genera Energy provides a robust and integrated biomass supply solution for the advanced biofuels, biopower, and biobased products industries. Genera is developing a facility to produce market pulp and thermoformed fibre products from locally grown agricultural materials. Using multiple feedstocks, Genera has created a blended fibre product that exhibits strong, beneficial characteristics required in a wide array of fibre-based applications.
GINKGO BIOWORKS – Reshma Shetty (Co-Founder)
Ginkgo Bioworks specializes in using genetic engineering to produce bacteria with industrial applications. Ginkgo Bioworks is an analytics company that designs organisms for customers in a range of industries. The company develops biological engineering products and custom microbes across multiple markets.
INKEMIA GREEN CHEMICALS – Lauren Zarama
InKemia Green Chemicals is the US subsidiary of InKemia IUCT Group, a Spain-based company primarily specialized in the biotechnological sector. The Company provides products and services for chemical, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, life science and related industry. InKemia GC’s mission is based on the industrial and commercial exploitation of IUCT technological advances in the field of Green Chemistry.
LANZATECH – Jennifer Holmgren
LanzaTech is a major developer of gas fermentation technology. The company provides novel and economic routes to ethanol, jet fuel and high-value chemicals from gas streams including industrial off-gases from steel and alloy mills; petroleum refineries, petrochemical complexes and gas processing facilities; syngas generated from any biomass resource (e.g. municipal solid waste (MSW), organic industrial waste, agricultural waste); and reformed biogas. LanzaTech’s unique microbial gas fermentation process provides a sustainable pathway to produce platform chemicals that serve as building blocks to products that have become indispensable in our lives such as rubber, plastics, synthetic fibres and fuels.
MANGO MATERIALS – Molly Morse
Mango Materials produces a naturally-occurring biopolymer, PHA, from waste biogas (
NEOWASTE – Jessica Findley
Neowaste is decentralizing waste management through chemical recycling. Neowaste, in collaboration with Polycrack Worldwide Ltd, is developing projects to convert landfill-bound materials, particularly plastic, into hydrocarbon fuel.
NOVAMONT – Catia Bastioli
Novamont develops and manufacture bio-based and biodegradable bioproducts through the integration of chemistry, agriculture and the environment. The main fields of application of the company’s bioproducts are packaging, separate organic waste collection, retail purchasing, disposable tableware, farming, lubricants, cosmetics, hygiene and pharmaceuticals.
NOVOLOOP – Miranda Wang
Formerly known as BioCellection, Novoloop develops sustainable and performance thermoplastics using its proprietary Accelerated Thermal Oxidative Decomposition(ADOT) technology to convert packaging waste into polyester-based thermoplastic polyurethane. Its features include a low carbon footprint and sustainability. It has applications in apparel, consumer electronics, automotive and additive manufacturing.
PHOTANOL – Veronique De Bruijn
Photanol is a Circular Carbon Chemicals production platform company that utilises proprietary engineered cyanobacteria to process carbon dioxide (CO2) and produce renewable chemical compounds. Cyanobacteria offer a much simpler, renewable pathway for chemical production, and have the potential to emerge as the sustainable production platform for next-generation clean chemicals.
RENEWLOGY – Priyanka Bakaya
Renewlogy developed a patented catalytic depolymerization process designed for converting plastic waste into fuel. The company’s depolymerization process uses a proprietary chemical recycling process that permits reversing plastic back into its basic molecular structure, to convert non-recycled plastic waste into new valuable products like high-value fuels, in order to end plastic waste entering landfills globally, enabling clients to generate fuel easily and sustainably.
SOLVAY – Illham Kadri
Solvay is an international chemical and advanced materials company. Solvay brings advancements in planes, cars, batteries, smart and medical devices, water and air treatment, to solve critical industrial, social and environmental challenges.
TRINTERNATIONAL INC –
TRInternational is a 25-year-old import/export chemical distributor. The Company provides products for pharmaceuticals, concretes, adhesives & sealants, cosmetics & personal care, paints & coatings, and water treatment industries.
TWIST BIOSCIENCE – Emily Leprouse
Twist Bioscience manufactures synthetic DNA for clients in the biotechnology industry. The company focuses on specialty chemical compounds and drug development. Their innovative silicon-based DNA Synthesis Platform provides precision at a scale that we believe is otherwise unavailable to their customers.
