First Shoe Made from Carbon Emissions

Swiss sports brand On is said to be the first company in the footwear industry to explore carbon emissions as a primary raw material for a shoe’s midsole, specifically EVA foam, that could also be used in other shoe parts and products in the future. The company’s new shoe, Cloudprime, is based on the new CleanCloud EVA foam and is the  result of the company’s five-year supply-chain partnership with Borealis, LanzaTech and Technip Energies.

LanzaTech uses a combination of cutting-edge genetic engineering, state-of-the-art biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and innovations in mechanical and chemical engineering to manufacture chemicals using a process that soaks up waste carbon rather than emitting it. Technip Energies is a leading engineering and technology company for the energy transition and in this consortium in charge of the process of dehydrating ethanol to the gas ethylene--key monomer and most important building block of widely used plastics. Polyolefins manufacturer Borealis created the high-performance, easy-to-process EVA foam for CleanCloud.

Here’s how it works: Technology from LanzaTech captures carbon monoxide emitted from industrial sources like steel mills before being released into the atmosphere. Once captured, these emissions enter a patented fermentation process. Thanks to specially selected and naturally occurring bacteria, the carbon rich gas ferments naturally and is converted to ethanol. This natural fermentation process is similar to that of conventional alcohol production – e.g., beer brewing. The ethanol is then dehydrated to create ethylene by Technip Energies, which is then polymerized by Borealis to become EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) in a form of solid small plastic pellets – the versatile and lightweight material that On starts working with to create a performance foam for shoes.

Said Borealis executive v.p. Lucrèce Foufopoulos, “Borealis is thrilled to be part of this unique value chain collaboration. With our creative partners On, LanzaTech, and Technip Energies we are proud to co-create circularity in carbon and decouple plastic from its reliance on fossil-based resources. Through innovation and collaboration, we continue re-inventing essentials for sustainable living.”

On’s ambition is to bring the CleanCloud technology to as many consumers as possible in the near future. Driven by the same spirit of sustainable innovation, On is collaborating with circular startup Novoloop on the CleanCloud outsole, by utilizing the world’s first chemically upcycled TPU from post-consumer plastic waste. The outsole was put under rigorous lab and athlete testing, meeting specifications comparable to fossil derived TPUs with a significant carbon footprint reduction. For the upper, On is collaborating with the young French startup Fairbrics to create a polyester-based textile made from carbon emissions.