Startup uses ancient bacteria to turn Texas CO2 into green chemicals

Again, the German-Danish startup using ancient bacteria to turn CO2 into new chemicals, is building a new bioreactor plant in Texas.

The facility will be located at Texas City, a major petrochemicals park located on the Gulf Coast. The industrial centre is run by Diamond Infrastructure Solutions — a joint venture between chemicals giant Dow and Macquarie Asset Management.  

“We’re building a global company, and that also means taking our technology into new regions,” Again’s co-founder Max Kufner told TNW. “There is a high demand in the US for our chemicals, particularly ones that can be sustainably made on-shore.”

The new facility will capture CO2 from one of Texas City’s refineries. Again will then combine the gas with hydrogen and feed the concoction to a host of millennia-old bacteria. The little germs devour the brew, turning it into commercial-grade compounds like acetate. This is the base chemical in ...