A Houston-based startup using biotechnology to convert carbon dioxide emissions into a variety of useful chemicals is scaling up.
Cemvita Factory uses synthetic biological processes to genetically alter microorganisms to absorb carbon dioxide and other molecules as feedstock. These genetically altered microbes can then be turned into a variety of chemicals for industrial use, such as ethylene, which can be used to make plastics.
Cemvita Factory’s biotechnology platform and the field of synthetic biology is complex, but sustainable biological processes have occurred in nature for billions of years, said Tara Karimi, co-founder and chief technology officer of Cemvita Factory.
Plants absorb light and produce glucose using photosynthesis. Using biomimicry, Cemvita Factory replicates naturally occurring processes to convert would-be wasted CO2 into useful, sustainable end products, said Karimi, who holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and postdoctorate degrees in tissue engineering and stem cell programming.
“We started with bio-ethylene, but we identified 30 different molecules that we can produce in the future,” Karimi said.
These kinds of biotechnology applications have been used widely in the fields of medicine and pharmaceuticals, but energy-focused clients are taking interest in Cemvita Factory’s biotechnology applications. Tara’s sibling Moji Karimi, co-founder and CEO of Cemvita Factory, holds degrees in drilling and petroleum engineering and previously worked for Weatherford International PLC. Amid environmental, social and governance (ESG) pressures from investors to be more sustainable, energy companies see a lot of value in converting CO2 emissions into chemicals for other use cases.
In April, Cemvita Factory announced plans with Houston-based Occidental Petroleum subsidiary Oxy Low Carbon Ventures to construct a bio-ethylene pilot plant that will use human-made CO2 as feedstock, as opposed to hydrocarbon-sourced feedstocks.
“The thinking there is to be able to use CO2 from the flue gas of power plants that are powering [Oxy’s] current downstream operations and use that as a feedstock to make precursors to polymers and plastics that they’re currently producing,” Moji Karimi said.
Cemvita Factory’s sustainable approach landed the company a spot in the Carbon to Value Initiative, an international collaboration aimed at commercializing technologies that capture and convert carbon dioxide into new end products and services. Cemvita Factory and the nine other "carbontech" companies were selected from more than 130 applicants from 26 countries.
To meet the increasing demand for its services, Cemvita Factory aims to grow its headcount by three to five times over. The company currently employs a team of around 30, including both full-time employees and contracted workers. Cemvita Factory plans to hire molecular biologists, lab technicians, chemical engineers, process engineers and other multidisciplinary scientists to its growing team.
Cemvita Factory is also growing its office space to meet its needs. The company will move into a 5,500-square-foot facility at 9350 Kirby Drive, allowing Cemvita Factory to consolidate its engineering and testing operations under one roof. The company will vacate a current space at 6101 Long Drive at the end of May, but Cemvita Factory plans to maintain its leased space within Johnson & Johnson’s JLabs at the Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute.
