Danimer Scientific CEO: President Biden’s executive order and the future of US bioplastics

06 Oct 2022 --- Last month, US President Joe Biden gave an executive order to advance American biotechnology and biomanufacturing. New initiatives and funding will boost the bioplastics market – part of the government’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, lower prices, strengthen supply chains and promote energy security.

Following this order was a White House summit in which various experts from the field of biotechnology spoke on a panel including members of congress, cabinet secretaries, and other industry and academic leaders, as well as a panel on biotechnology R&D to solve pressing challenges. 

One of the speakers at this panel was Stephen Croskrey, CEO of US-based bioplastics specialist Danimer Scientific. PackagingInsights sat down with Croskrey to discuss his involvement in this new phase of biomanufacturing in the American economy and what it could mean for the global packaging industry. 

“President Biden’s executive order was intended to support the growth of biotechnology in the US. His view is that we need to create opportunities in-house, so to speak. The assumption is that many products will in the future be made from bio-based materials that are currently made from other materials,” he says.

The Danimer Scientific facility in Kentucky, US.Danimer Scientific makes biodegradable plastics from vegetable oil through a fermentation process. “We are replicating a process that already occurs naturally in an industrial setting,” explains Croskrey. “We have large fermentation vessels with microorganisms that will take the carbon from the veg oil and convert it into another form of carbon for their own metabolic needs.” 

“That carbon, PHA, we then sell as a resin to our customers who can use it in products like containers and straws. These products can compost at home or will degrade safely in the environment,” he says. 

“We want to eradicate plastic waste in this way.” 

Eye on bioplastics 
Croskrey says he appreciates the attention that President Biden’s executive order is bringing to the biomaterials industry. 

“Having the federal government involved in promoting our industry is a fantastic thing, even if it’s only across different government agencies. A lot of governments are banning single-use plastics and just bringing the level of awareness up that there are biopolymers out there that don’t need to be banned is very important.” 

Currently, the EU is facing a row over how the EU Single Use Plastics Directive is being implemented, as Italy has exempted bioplastics from the ban – something environmental activists deem illegal, and legislators worry will threaten the integrity of the Single Market. 

The exemption also raises concerns about greenwashing and misinformation on what bioplastics are and what constitutes biodegradability.

Croskrey asserts that with the right education for leaders and consumers, biomaterials can be effectively introduced throughout society to replace polluting products. “You can still have your straw, cup, and lid without fossil-fuel-based plastics.”

Adoption versus scale 
Besides helping promote the biotechnology industry, Croskrey says the focus on bioplastics and biofuels could be a powerful tool during a time of energy crisis and inflation. Nodax PHA is the flagship product of Danimer Scientific

“There is a program called Title 17 in the Department of Energy that promotes new technologies that are scaling up, and we have been accepted into Phase 2 of that program. I think the fact that the government is behind these kinds of biobased technologies as a whole is very helpful.”

“It is a very positive outcome for Danimer Scientific specifically,” he says. 

At the White House summit, Croskrey raised a number of issues. “Scale-up is very expensive, and we are competing against an industry that has massive infrastructure and has been doing this for 70 years,” he stresses. 

“We were asked how the government could help support growth. One thing that I highlighted is that there are tax credits put in place to support the biodiesel industry. There is a dollar-a-gallon tax credit for every gallon of vegetable oil used for diesel fuel – this has driven up the price of vegetable oil. Companies like ourselves that are trying to make plastic from vegetable oil are negatively impacted, and we want a level playing field here.” 

“We also spoke about how we could use help from worker trainer programs and incentives for people with scientific degrees to come to rural areas, such as the ones in which we work,” he continues. 

Over the next year, Danimer Scientific will be launching some major products with brands like Starbucks. 

“We are going to show the world that this is happening and that these companies care about these issues,” concludes Croskrey. 

By Louis Gore-Langton