About "Bio-Recycling"
"Bio-Recycling" is a novel method of recycling PET materials by returning them to intermediate raw materials and re-polymerizing them into new PET resin. While it fundamentally employs the same chemical reactions as "chemical recycling,"1 it replaces the chemical decomposition process with enzymatic decomposition using bio-derived enzymes. This enables recycling at room temperature and pressure, significantly lowering the reaction temperature and potentially resolving challenges inherent in conventional methods. The project focuses on discovering novel PETase enzymes (enzymes that break down PET plastic)that can decompose PET materials with high efficiency, thereby establishing the "Bio-Recycling" method.
Roles of the Three Parties
SyntheticGestalt:
SyntheticGestalt utilizes its proprietary AI technology, which has improved by expanding training data2 fivefold, to explore high-functioning and high-value-added new PETase enzymes from a library of 250 million gene sequences. The company has a proven track record of using AI to discover novel enzymes, including the world's second example of a new MHETase (an enzyme critical for PET bottle bio-recycling) and four novel PETase enzymes. SyntheticGestalt is a participant in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and NEDO's GENIAC program for developing foundation AI models, and it has already developed the world's largest molecular-based AI model. The company also operates a multinational team and is part of METI’s J-Startup program.
