According to WRAP, the world produces 141 million tonnes of plastic packaging each year, but at least one third ends up immediately polluting the environment. The numbers are often too large to fathom and what is worse is that the numbers are getting larger. But, we believe plastics are a massive resource of untapped refined hydrocarbons, therefore we developed technology to capture value from this resource, by making carbon nanotubes. In this project we propose to expand on our ability to capture and create value by using plastics as a source for making hydrogen too.

With every carbon nanotube made we naturally split hydrocarbon and also liberate hydrogen. The focus of this application is the completion of a detailed engineering design study to determine appropriate technologies and operational units that will allow us the ability to simultaneously manufacture carbon nanotubes and to capture green hydrogen.

To achieve net zero and reduce environmental impact we propose the use of plastics as feedstock for high value carbon nanomaterials and hydrogen. In this project we will develop our innovative and novel manufacturing technology that can bring the UK closer to Net Zero targets.Globally, any company that can turn plastic waste into a useful product could potentially see high sales and valuations. TrimTabs has developed a process to use plastic waste and produce low-cost carbon nanotubes with quality-checking processes throughout the production line. With this funding we will augment our processing steps to include abatement strategies that will capture green hydrogen from the nanotube manufacturing process. TrimTabs is a Greentech company focused on creating new methods of repurposing and recycling plastic waste into usable nanomaterials. The proprietary method converts old carbon waste, such as plastics, into new materials that are useful for electricity, data and thermal transfer. TrimTabs takes plastic waste and turns this into carbon nanotubes, both single-walled (SWCNT) and multi-walled (MWCNT). The process produces a higher quality nanotube which can be sold for a per gram price that is consistently lower than competitors.