Opportunity #1:
Biosolids disposal represents a very significant expense category for municipal waste water treatment plants (WWTPs). Approximately 40% of a WWTP’s overall annual budget goes towards management and disposal of unwanted biosolids, also referred to as sludge. Disposal methods such as transport to landfills, incineration, and land surface application are expensive, environmentally difficult, and fraught with community and governmental policy issues. Working closely with municipal WWTPs to reduce this huge expense is a very compelling business opportunity for Micromidas.
Opportunity #2:
Waste generated from traditional petroleum-based plastics is also a huge problem, financially and ecologically. Less than 10% of the world’s post-consumer plastics are recycled. Well over 80% of this material is sent to landfills, requiring millennia to fully degrade and become non-toxic. The scale of this problem is enormous. As an example, it has been estimated that the huge floating mass of non-degradable plastic material found in the North Central Pacific Ocean consists of up to 100 million tons of non-degradable petroleum-based plastic, endangering sea life and the world’s food chain.
In addition to the pollution problem, petroleum-based plastics are greatly impacted by the highly volatile world oil markets. During the summer of 2008, for example, the prices of polyethylene and polypropylene rose over 50%, resulting in tremendous shockwaves throughout the entire petroleum-based plastics industry. One international manufacturer, Rubbermaid, experienced a $500 million decrease in anticipated product lines, resulting in $100 million in restructuring charges. The company went on to close or consolidate over 100 of its manufacturing plants as a result of skyrocketing petroleum-based plastics costs.
Micromidas sees a tremendous opportunity in assisting such manufacturers with biodegradable and recyclable bioplastics. The company is targeting the enormous disposable plastics market, estimated to be approximately 77 million metric tons annually or $40 billion per year. For plastic manufacturers interested in bio-plastics alternatives, Micromidas is producing earth-friendly polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) plastics. Unlike other bioplastics which rely on sugar or cellulose feedstocks, Micromidas uses advanced microbial bio-refinery processes to extract carbon from wastewater streams, eliminating the impact on existing food supplies and natural resources.
The Micromidas PHA market entry will be a key element in the nascent, fast-growing bioplastics industry worldwide. This market is currently valued at more than $1 billion, and growing at an annual rate in excess of 18% - similar to semi-conductor markets of the 1960s and 1970s, or the Information Technology markets of the 1980s and 1990s. Micromidas anticipates being able to address .05% of this market with its first bio-refinery plant, and over time, more than 20% as successive Micromidas bio-refinery plants come online.
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