The company was spun out of a Yale chemistry lab last year, and it has been working to refine the production of so-called green methanol. Today, most methanol is derived from fossil fuels and used to make petrochemicals, though it can also be used as a transportation fuel. Because of that flexibility, green methanol, which is made without fossil fuels, could rid carbon pollution from a range of industries.
“We think it’s one of the most versatile chemicals that can really decarbonize the hard-to-abate sectors of shipping, aviation, and petrochemicals that are responsible for 11% of emissions right now,” co-founder and COO Harrison Meyer told TechCrunch.