First All-natural Beverage Industry Plastic Bottle Cap

Completely biodegradable solution to replace conventional petroleum-based plastic bottle cap.

Material science plus manufacturability are providing some really cool sustainability products. One reason dire projections seldom come true—humans are problem solvers. It just takes longer than today’s news cycle to solve some of the problems. We will get there eventually. We always do.

This news comes from a company I’ve just heard about—Beyond Plastic, along with CJ Biomaterials and Techlong International. 

Note: Previously I’ve written about PlantSwitch, a company producing plastic tableware from agricultural byproducts. Who’s next?

Beyond Plastic has introduced the first-ever completely biodegradable plastic bottle cap to hit the market. The closure is made from polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a biopolymer created using bacteria fermentation. The new, eco-friendly cap looks, feels, and performs just like traditional petroleum-based plastic caps but brings transformative advantages — it’s recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable even in the most sensitive conditions. The Beyond Plastic bottle cap contains zero microplastics and causes no harm to the environment, unlike traditional plastics. 

To make this vision a reality, Beyond Plastic has strategically partnered with two leading value chain giants to make this sustainable solution a success — CJ Biomaterials and Techlong International. “We are proud to be working with Beyond Plastic in the development of this game-changing bottle cap,” said Max Senechal, Chief Commercial Officer at CJ Biomaterials. “As a global leader in the manufacture of PHA, we are committed to introducing revolutionary, eco-friendly solutions to replace traditional plastics. This collaboration with Beyond Plastic is helping to transform the plastics industry with sensible, sustainable technology, and we’re excited about the progressive impact this will have on a commercial scale.”

PHA holds great promise as a solution to the plastic crisis, and greater adoption will necessitate extensive testing and experimentation. To date, integrating PHA into existing systems has not been a straightforward process. Adapting conventional equipment that is typically used for petroleum-based plastics to effectively accommodate PHA adds a layer of complexity.

“Providing a PHA resin is not enough, you have to be able to provide a full turnkey solution that includes the adapted machinery to work with the material as seamlessly as it would running traditional polymers. We approach this as a packaged and complete solution. We are thrilled to help Beyond Plastic on their mission, and we’re excited to see that with our equipment they’re able to make the right modifications that turn PHA into a real-world, viable solution for the marketplace, ” said Keith Boss, CEO at Techlong International, Inc.

“The success of commercializing PHA depends on many factors, one of which is having great partnerships with leaders that both support and promote your vision. That’s exactly what we’ve found with both CJ Biomaterials and Techlong. With their help, leadership, and knack for innovation, we’re poised to revolutionize the plastics industry, help businesses have a positive impact, and significantly reduce plastic pollution, creating a cleaner planet for generations to come — it’s a win-win-win scenario,” said Lance Collins, CEO of Beyond Plastic.

The Beyond Plastic bottle cap is made from polyhydroxyalkanoate, a biopolymer created using bacteria fermentation. The cap contains zero microplastics and causes no harm to the environment.

About Beyond Plastic 

Beyond Plastic is creating a more sustainable and eco-friendly future using Mother Nature’s plastic. Our goal is to provide sustainable replacement plastic packaging options by pioneering the first 100% bio-based and 100% RCB — Recyclable, Compostable and Biodegradable — scalable solutions on the market. Beyond Plastic was established by Lance Collins, as a continuation project to Lance’s Carbon Negative ZENWTR beverage brand. The first water brand created using Certified 100% Ocean Bound plastic.

About CJ Biomaterials, Inc.

Headquartered in Woburn, MA, USA, CJ Biomaterials develops meaningful solutions that positively affect our planet, human health and well-being by addressing the challenges posed by plastic waste. The company invents and manufactures biopolymers and bio-based chemicals as part of a long-term vision to create a more sustainable future, by enabling true circular solutions that replace many non-recyclable, non-reusable and fossil fuel-based plastics and chemicals. CJ Biomaterials is a global leader in the manufacture of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)–both polymers and associated basic chemicals. CJ Biomaterials, a business unit of CJ BIO, is part of CJ CheilJedang, a global lifestyle company with a vision to inspire a new life filled with health, happiness, and convenience.

About Techlong International Inc

Techlong International Inc is a worldwide leading supplier of equipment to the beverage industry. Customized to the needs of the customer our equipment offers the most adapted solutions, first-class product and sustainable packaging answers. Our Jeepine Compression Cap Manufacturing machines complement the other machines in our portfolio aimed at providing our customers with a turnkey bottling factory one-stop solution.

Dragos OT Cybersecurity Year in Review 

New OT threat groups include VOLTZITE linked to Volt Typhoon; ransomware attacks grew 50 percent; state actors and unsophisticated hacktivist groups gained ground against OT systems.

Cybersecurity companies busily conduct surveys and issue reports. This news concerns Dragos’ release of its sixth annual OT Cybersecurity Year in Review report

The report named the emergence of three new threat groups, including VOLTZITE linked to Volt Typhoon, and found that ransomware continued to be the most reported cyber threat among industrial organizations with a nearly 50% increase in reported incidents. 2023 also saw the first time a hacktivist group achieved Stage 2 of the ICS Cyber Kill Chain. 

Based on data gathered from annual customer service engagements conducted by Dragos’s cybersecurity experts in the field across the range of industrial sectors, the top challenges industrial organizations need to address are:

  • Lack of Sufficient Security Controls: 28% of service engagements involved issues with improper network segmentation or improperly configured firewalls. 
  • Improper Network Segmentation: Approximately 70% of OT-related incidents originated from within the IT environment. 
  • Lack of Separate IT & OT User Management: 17% of organizations had a shared domain architecture between their IT and OT systems, the most common method of lateral movement and privilege escalation.
  • External Connections to the ICS Environment: Dragos observed four threat groups exploiting public-facing devices and external services and issued findings related to externally facing networks such as the internet in 20% of engagement reports.

PlantSwitch Closes $8 Million to Commercialize Bioplastic Technology

Here is one of my favorite companies—using “waste” bioplastic to mold those plastic eating utensils ubiquitous in fast food restaurants and picnics. They have a small operating plant and just closed an $8 million round to increase production. How many more energy and resource saving ideas are lurking out there in the minds of my readers?

PlantSwitch has developed revolutionary bioplastic technology that converts cellulosic agricultural waste streams into a low-cost, compostable plastic resin alternative. As bans on single-use plastic are increasing globally and major corporations are searching for ways to reduce their plastic footprint, PlantSwitch is uniquely positioned to provide a compostable, cost-effective alternative to conventional plastic that is both sustainable and scalable.

“Alternatives to plastic have traditionally failed to deliver on cost, quality, and availability,” shares CEO and Founder Dillon Baxter. “PlantSwitch was founded with the mission to deliver a bioplastic alternative that can replace all traditional single-use plastics. To do that, the technology must be low-cost, high performance, and rapidly scalable; and those 3 tenets have guided every decision our development team has made since inception.”

Proceeds from this raise will be used to launch PlantSwitch’s first commercial manufacturing facility in North Carolina and expand its team. At scale, the 52,000 sq ft facility is expected to produce over 50M lbs of bioplastic resin annually. PlantSwitch’s customers include some of the leading brands and manufacturers in foodservice, CPG, cosmetics, and agricultural products, and the company expects this facility to reach its capacity in 2025. PlantSwitch currently has 12 employees, primarily chemical engineers and polymer scientists that have made significant contributions to the field of sustainable materials.

Aligned with PlantSwitch’s vision, NexPoint Capital is a large institutional investor with a climate tech platform, where they allocate early-stage capital to climate-smart technologies that will require significant infrastructure to scale. NexPoint currently holds over $16 billion in assets under management.

“At NexPoint, we are always looking to support companies that do important work, and offer attractive opportunities for growth,” said Scott Johnson, Managing Director & Portfolio Manager at NexPoint Capital.  “PlantSwitch certainly fits that bill and represents an investment that aligns with our values and expertise in Climate Tech businesses.”

PlantSwitch is now gearing up for its 2024 Series A fundraise, which will be used to expand capacity with additional manufacturing facilities.

“Major corporations have made commitments to lower their plastic consumption and the toxic waste it produces, but the proper infrastructure to deliver a viable alternative hasn’t existed,” says PlantSwitch CEO Dillon Baxter. “This $8 million raise, in partnership with NexPoint, is being invested in building out this infrastructure, which will drive the alternative plastics market forward.” In conclusion, Baxter adds, “We believe the infrastructure for compostable bioplastics is critical to the future of our economy, our health, and our planet. That’s why we are on a mission to build it in a way that is scalable and cost competitive.”

HPE to acquire Juniper Networks to accelerate AI-driven innovation

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) influencer group first contacted me in the mid-2010s through the Aruba networking group. I was the independent industrial IoT writer at the time. The scope broadened for a time, then they closed the influencer group a couple of years ago. But I’ve maintained a bit of a connection to HPE networking, as well as its software and high-end hardware groups.

I’m not an analyst of this part of the market, but I’d have to say this is not a surprising acquisition. HPE has been pretty aggressive under CEO Antonio Neri. They usually do pretty well at integrating acquisitions. This acquisition of Juniper Networks should be a boost.

From the news release in brief:

  • Highly complementary combination enhances secure, unified, cloud and AI-native networking to drive innovation from edge to cloud to exascale
  • Accelerates long-term revenue growth and expands gross and operating margin; Expected to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS and free cash flow in year 1, post close
  • Advances HPE’s portfolio mix shift toward higher-growth solutions and strengthens high-margin networking business 

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks, a leader in AI-native networks, announced January 9 that the companies have entered a definitive agreement under which HPE will acquire Juniper in an all-cash transaction for $40.00 per share, representing an equity value of approximately $14 billion.

The combination of HPE and Juniper advances HPE’s portfolio mix shift toward higher-growth solutions and strengthens its high-margin networking business, accelerating HPE’s sustainable profitable growth strategy. The transaction is expected to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS and free cash flow in the first year post close.

The acquisition is expected to double HPE’s networking business, creating a new networking leader with a comprehensive portfolio that presents customers and partners with a compelling new choice to drive business value.

Combining HPE and Juniper’s complementary portfolios supercharges HPE’s edge-to-cloud strategy with an ability to lead in an AI-native environment based on a foundational cloud-native architecture. 

Upon completion of the transaction, Juniper CEO Rami Rahim will lead the combined HPE networking business, reporting to HPE President and CEO Antonio Neri.

Where do profits come from?

Boeing is a company that has lost its way. I have no idea why the board has not sacked the CEO. The 737MAX  program was a fiasco and continues to haunt the company. The 787 program ran way behind schedule costing the company billions. This is what happens when you ignore product and serving customers instead focusing solely on financial numbers. We are a business company not an engineering company, said one Boeing CEO. How right he was. They can’t build an airplane anymore. But they can still count, I guess.

You can listen to the podcast here or subscribe at Overcast or Apple Podcasts or wherever you subscribe. You can also watch on YouTube.

You can support me at Buy Me a Coffee.

Former Emerson Process Leader Publishes Book

John Berra, former chairman of Emerson Process and the leader who assembled that group, once told me in an interview that he wished someone would write a book about the early days and development of automated process control. If he wad hinting for me, I was the wrong person. More likely it would have been my colleague Walt Boyes. But instead, John has written a book that will be out March 5—Turning the Giant: Disrupting Your Business with Persistent Innovation. I’m glad he did.

I’ve not read the book, yet, but I have it on order. I enjoyed all my interviews with Berra over the years. He was always cerebral, knowledgeable, and visionary. And I discovered at one of my last Emerson events with him that he also played Bellomy (the father of the girl) in community theater production of The Fantasticks. I played that role in the early 70s in Sidney, Ohio. He also wrote a column for me when I was at Automation World after he retired.

My old friend Jim Cahill wrote about the book on his Emerson Process Experts blog—worth a read.

I was fortunate to get an advanced look at John Berra’s new book Turning the Giant: Disrupting Your Business with Persistent Innovation (slated for release on March 5, 2024). John is the Past Chairman of Emerson’s automation business and was President of the Systems business during the development of the DeltaV control system. I read it this past weekend and really enjoyed it because I got to live through many of the stories he shares throughout the book and better see the events from his perspective.

Follow this blog

Get a weekly email of all new posts.