Materials Reimagined: Plastic, Steel and Cocoa
summary
Seaweed-derived PHA pellets claim to replace fossil plastics while being biodegradable and carbon-negative, processed on existing injection-molding and melt-spinning lines and composting in weeks; scaling needs 0.1% of the ocean surface for global replacement. Green steel uses hydrogen to reduce iron ore, producing unchanged-specification coils with first production from 2026 after a €6.5 billion investment for a 2.5 million-ton plant. A sunflower-based cocoa-free chocolate is fermented, roasted and ground into an ingredient made at ~25–30 tons/day, aiming to stabilize supply and cut cocoa-linked social and climate risks.
AI-written summary · about