02 Nov 2022 --- US-based startup Protein Evolution (PEI) has established what it says is the world’s first enzymatic plastic recycling business, landing initial funding of US$20 million. The group couples artificial intelligence (AI) with synthetic biology and maps tens of millions of enzymes capable of transforming plastic waste into reusable chemicals. This process can be infinitely repeated, it claims. PEI’s developments follow recent scientific breakthroughs in AI and natural science, for which numerous studies have shown enzymes can degrade plastics both in laboratories and in the natural environment.
