We speak with Dr. Karen Wooley, chief technology officer at biomaterials company Teysha Technology, about her work developing bioplastics materials for the packaging market.

Wooley holds the W. T. Doherty-Welch chair in Chemistry and is a University distinguished professor at Texas A&M University, with appointments in the Departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering. She also serves as director of the Laboratory for Synthetic-Biologic Interactions. 

Wooley describes how her academic work fed into the development of Teysha’s signature product, AggiePol, which is designed to replace fossil-based plastics. We also discuss industry hesitation toward bioplastics, the subsidization of fossil-based materials and the business case for long-term biopolymer investments.

Can you tell us about how Teysha started and what the main aim of the company is?

Wooley: Back in the mid-1990s, my lab began exploring how to transform glucose into polycarbonates. But it wasn’t until I joined Texas A&M University that our work really started to take off, and we developed AggiePol, our renewable solution to replace polluting plastics. 

AggiePol is produced through a sophisticated process that starts by transforming renewable raw materials like glucose and other plant-based sugars into polycarbonates. The heart of this process lies in a series of carefully controlled chemical reactions that polymerize these natural feedstocks, converting them into highly adaptable, environmentally and biologically degradable polymers.

In 2017, Matthew Stone visited the university. He was excited by the innovative materials we were creating and their wide range of properties. His enthusiasm led him to license our intellectual property and set up Teysha Technologies.

AggiePol production at the lab in Texas.For the past five or six years, we’ve been focusing on unlocking AggiePol’s full potential. Our goal is to utilize its diverse characteristics to help major brands replace polluting plastics across a range of industries, including packaging.

What do you offer the packaging industry that differs from other companies?

Wooley: What truly sets AggiePol apart is its remarkable versatility while maintaining two key parameters: sustainability and performance. As a “plug-and-play” system, it offers an incredible level of adaptability, enabling the creation of a wide range of products to suit various needs. We can adjust its molecular composition and structure to precisely control factors like strength, flexibility and degradation rates under various conditions.

This versatility means that we can produce materials that vary from hard, durable options to softer, more pliable versions, each designed to meet specific performance requirements. In the packaging industry, this level of customization is invaluable, allowing us to create solutions that not only meet but exceed the demands of different applications. 

AggiePol focuses on sustainability from start to finish. By using renewable resources as its base materials, the process not only minimizes dependence on fossil fuels but also creates a product designed to have a significantly lower environmental impact. Unlike traditional plastics, AggiePol’s innovative polymers are engineered to break down naturally at the end of life into safe, non-toxic by-products when exposed to typical environmental conditions.

What are the main difficulties you face in scaling your products and making them commercially viable?

Wooley: One of the main challenges Teysha Technologies faces in scaling our products is the industry’s hesitation over price when considering a shift away from heavily subsidized petrochemical plastics. However, AggiePol offers a strong advantage in this regard. Because it’s designed to be compatible with existing manufacturing infrastructure and made from low-cost, renewable raw materials, we’re expecting to be able to offer it at a competitive price point.

Government subsidies for petrochemicals are a hurdle for bioplastics development.An additional difficulty, in particular for plastic packaging, is the limited scope of base resin types that currently qualify for recyclability. In the US, the APR Design Guide for plastics packaging recyclability requires PE, PP or PET and in the EU, RecyClass also includes PS.  Other plastic types are not sorted for collection and processing at typical material recovery facilities and recycling/reclaiming centers.  

To receive certification as recyclable and actually be recycled, packaging products must consist of those limited petrochemical-sourced resin materials and meet other criteria, including having sufficient scale and access. There are no inherent reasons that AggiePol could not be recycled if actually collected and processed, but as with other biopolymers, that will require changes to the recycling infrastructure. 

In the near term, AggiePol’s real-world impact will arise from its application in directions that take advantage of its sustainable sourcing, performance and, ultimately, environmental and biological degradability. 

What can be done to help boost bioplastic production and product viability?

Wooley: Governments can play a vital role by implementing supportive policies and regulations that encourage brands to swap out fossil-fuel-based, environmentally persistent plastics for bioplastics. For example, they could introduce bans on unnecessary polluting plastics that can be replaced with alternatives and expand the scope of plastic types that are captured by recycling processes.

We can already see the impact of more stringent regulations on plastics, particularly in the EU, as forward-thinking brands are increasingly aware of the need to transition away from traditional plastics. These businesses are recognizing that adopting alternatives like AggiePol isn’t just a matter of compliance — it’s an essential step toward future-proofing their operations and meeting the growing demand for environmentally responsible products.

As we engage with large multinationals to roll out AggiePol, one of our primary focuses is developing tailored, scaled-up prototypes of the material. We’re currently collaborating with High Force Research, a lab based in the North-East of England, to produce samples at the kilogram scale. These samples will be shared with potential partners as we scale our business and prepare for exciting new collaborations that we aim to launch in the coming year.