Mango Materials
About
Mango Materials converts abundant methane gas into biodegradable materials to be incorporated into the conventional plastics supply. Co-founders Allison Pieja and Molly Morse investigated the production of PHA biopolymers from methane and its biodegradation under anaerobic conditions as part of their Ph.D. research at Stanford University. After graduation, they started Mango Materials with fellow Ph.D. Anne Schauer-Gimenez as a renewable bioproducts company located in the San Francisco Bay Area that strives to be the global leader in the bio manufacturing revolution. They have now invested in a proprietary platform that delivers optimallyformulated, biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) pellets that incorporate into any supply chain.
Type of actor
Renewable bioproducts company
Investment type
Private
Operates in
The San Francisco Bay Area, United States
Sectors
Bio manufacturing
Approach
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas found all over the world. It is a by-product of many essential operations but has few economically beneficial uses besides electricity and fuel. Mango Materials believes that methane is a valuable and under-utilised resource.
To source its feedstock, it builds factories next to existing methane production facilities and partners with landfills, wastewater treatment plants, and agricultural facilities.
Its factories use organisms called methanotrophs to produce PHA naturally. Under certain conditions, these organisms consume methane and convert it to PHA that is stored in their cell walls. Mango Materials harvests this PHA and delivers formulated pellets that are incorporated into conventional plastics supply chains.
Impact
The use of methane as feedstock facilitates a low-cost, highly scalable process. The pellets can be used in a variety of uses, from fibres for apparel and textiles to rigid goods such as jars, caps, and moulded applications.
Mango Materials’s closed-loop model has the potential to transform the plastics industry. If PHA products end their life in a modern waste facility where methane is produced, the gas can be recaptured to make more PHA. If PHA is disposed of in the natural environment, it becomes part of the naturally occurring carbon cycle as it is completely biodegradable and leaves no trace of microplastics or microfibres.
“Mango Materials uses organisms called methanotrophs to produce PHA naturally… It harvests this PHA and delivers formulated pellets that are incorporated into conventional plastics supply chains.”
Mango Materials currently produces 100,000 pounds of pellets per year and works directly with brand owners for their specific applications. So far, it has one fully commercialised product – a soap dish produced by Natura&Co in Brazil.
Key takeaways
Co-founders Molly, Allison and Anne did not start out to found a women-led company, but to change the plastics industry. After they started, they realised that it was a very male-dominated field and that there is actually a very powerful gender thread running through their work.
Mango Materials has three women co-founders, has 50% women in its workforce, and its board is over 50% women. Because there are so few women in the space, the Mango Materials founders are remembered and approached more. They also seek to shift the narrative and demonstrate that women can have children and a family and still run a very successful and innovative climate solutions business.
What’s next?
Globally, PHA production is expected to increase tenfold by 2027.⁶ Mango Material’s goal is to replace polluting plastics with their product and reach production of one billion pounds per year in the next ten years. It has several new projects in the works including creation of fibre for apparel, a piece of work sponsored by NASA to capture methane in the galaxy, and building a larger factory that can process 5 million pounds per year.