CTSS Episode 8: mobius
Creating wonder in waste
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mobius is a Knoxville, Tennessee-based startup that partners with companies generating organic waste on an industrial scale, and converts their waste into valuable chemicals and materials which it sells to manufacturers. The first technology that mobius is commercializing uses lignin, the primary waste produced by pulp and paper mills, to create biodegradable and compostable polymers and plastics for the agricultural industry. Today, there’s over a billion tons of organic waste produced in the U.S. each year from food, forestry, and agriculture. This produces an annual emissions footprint of 7 gigatons of CO2. By converting this waste into higher value chemicals and materials, mobius is helping to reduce that emissions impact. CEO & Founder, Tony Bova, walks me through a company overview and how his team is helping to make waste into a valuable resource.
Enjoy the show!
Synopsis
Mission: Create a world where “There’s Wonder in Waste” by using biology, chemistry, and engineering to turn organic waste into a valuable resource.
Team:Tony Bova (Co-Founder & CEO); Jeff Beegle (Co-Founder & Chief Science Officer) (6 employees total)
Product: Patent-pending process to convert waste lignin into biodegradable polymers for agriculture, and a proprietary enzymatic process to convert waste cooking oil into valuable chemicals and materials for industry.
Traction: Raised >$2.2MM in funding (both grant and equity); bio-oil partnership with a national grocery chain.