Swiss sports brand On has unveiled the first shoe made from carbon emissions, dubbed Cloudprime. The company says it is the result of a pioneering supply chain partnership with innovators in biochemicals, process and material science, including LanzaTech, Borealis and Technip Energies.
Cloudprime. Credit: On
Cloudprime. Credit: On
On described the release of Cloudprime as "a significant moment" in its push away from the use of petroleum-based resources. The company made the shoe from a new foam material it created called CleanCloud, made using carbon emissions as a raw material. On claims to be the first company in the footwear industry to explore carbon emissions as a primary raw material for a shoe’s midsole.
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“Holding the first-ever shoe made of carbon emissions in my hands is a huge milestone – not only for On but for the whole sports industry,” said Caspar Coppetti, Co-Founder and Executive Co-Chairman of On.
“Five years ago, this was barely a dream. Imagine what can happen in the future as we unlock the potential of alternative carbon sources with further research and in collaboration with the best partners.”
CleanCloud came about as the result of a supply chain partnership with carbon recycler LanzaTech, chemicals giant Borealis and energy transition engineering company Technip Energies.
LanzaTech uses a combination of genetic engineering, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and innovations in mechanical and chemical engineering to manufacture chemicals using a process that soaks up waste carbon rather than emitting it.
“Today we continue our journey to show the world that recycled carbon is a resource rather than a liability,” says Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech.
“As we increasingly convert pollution into the products we use in our daily lives, we will reduce the need to extract more carbon from the ground! The partnership between On, Borealis, Technip and LanzaTech will change how the world thinks about sourcing carbon, enabling us to bend the carbon curve, keep our skies blue, and create a sustainable future for all.”
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Technip Energies' role in the project to take charge of the process of dehydrating ethanol to the gas ethylene, which is a monomer and the most important building block of widely used plastics.
Bhaskar Patel, SVP Sustainable Fuels, Chemicals & Circularity at Technip Energies, said: “Technip Energies is proud to be supporting On in this exciting project to make CleanCloud a reality. The application of our Hummingbird technology to produce bioethylene is one step to a more sustainable future. We look forward to working with the On team to scale up and help bring CleanCloud to the world.”
Borealis is a major provider of advanced, circular and renewable plastic solutions and its role in the project is to create high-performance, easy-to-process EVA foam for CleanCloud.
Lucrèce Foufopoulos, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins, Circularity and Innovation & Technology, said: “Borealis is thrilled to be part of this unique value chain collaboration. With our creative partners On, LanzaTech, and Technip Energies we are proud to co-create circularity in carbon and decouple plastic from its reliance on fossil-based resources. Through innovation and collaboration, we continue re-inventing essentials for sustainable living.”
The process begins with technology from LanzaTech, which captures carbon monoxide emitted from industrial sources like steel mills before being released into the atmosphere. Once captured, these emissions enter a patented fermentation process. Thanks to specially selected and naturally occurring bacteria, the carbon-rich gas ferments naturally and is converted to ethanol. This natural fermentation process is similar to that of conventional alcohol production – e.g., beer brewing.
The ethanol is then dehydrated to create ethylene by Technip Energies, which is then polymerized by Borealis to become EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) in a form of solid small plastic pellets – the versatile and lightweight material that On starts working with to create a performance foam for shoes.
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“We believe that On can be an agent for positive change through enabling and accelerating the scale up of sustainable technologies such as CleanCloud,” added Caspar Coppetti.
On is also collaborating with circular start-up Novoloop on the CleanCloud outsole, by utilizing the world’s first chemically upcycled Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) from post-consumer plastic waste. The outsole was put under rigorous lab and athlete testing, meeting specifications comparable to fossil-derived TPUs with a significant carbon footprint reduction. For the upper part of the show, On is collaborating with the young French start-up Fairbrics to create a polyester-based textile made from carbon emissions.
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