San Francisco-based Rubi has secured a $1 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Grant from the US National Science Foundation to scale up its breakthrough carbon-to-cellulose platform.

Rubi has pioneered a first-of-its-kind cell-free biocatalysis technology to make CO2-derived materials and chemicals. The company’s initial focus is on CO2-derived cellulose to replace traditional wood pulp, aiming to decarbonise textile production by eliminating deforestation and significantly reducing the environmental impact of raw material manufacturing. With proven technology and strong customer partnerships, the grant accelerates Rubi’s mission to meet the urgent global demand for low-carbon materials.

This grant has been awarded to less than 5% of SBIR applicants over the last decade and builds on Rubi’s successful Phase I grant completion in 2023, which advanced multi-enzyme cascade design and enzyme stabilisation for carbon-to-cellulose production. Since then, Rubi’s milestones include an $8.7 million seed funding round, co-led by H&M Group and Patagonia, strategic pilot partnerships with global fashion brands H&M, Patagonia, Reformation, Ganni and Nuuly, and a series of pilot projects in collaboration with Walmart.

Working with Ganni, the company has also introduced the world’s first yarn made from CO2 through a fully enzymatic process

“This award is a testament to Rubi’s vision for a symbiotic manufacturing future and our ambition to lead the next era of sustainable industry,” said Neeka Mashouf, co-founder and CEO of Rubi. “As we move into 2025, this grant will accelerate our efforts to scale CO2-derived, low-carbon cellulose for the textile industry, ultimately allowing us to transform environmental challenges into opportunities, bridge our proven science with existing supply chains and set a new standard for decoupling industrial growth from environmental degradation.”

Rubi’s proprietary technology uses a cascade of specialised enzymes to transform simple 1-carbon molecules into complex carbohydrate polymers like cellulose under mild conditions. Compared to traditional methods such as fermentation or chemical catalysis, which are constrained by cost, efficiency or product range, Rubi’s cell-free enzymatic platform can achieve a ten-times reduction in capital costs and three-times higher yields than fermentation and significantly lower energy use than chemical catalysis while expanding the range of attainable products.

Unlike cell-based fermentation – which requires energy-intensive conditions to sustain living organisms and typically generates over 70% byproduct waste – Rubi’s cell-free biocatalysis process can convert nearly all carbon inputs into the desired product. This maximised efficiency eliminates the significant resource demands of conventional biological methods.

www.rubi.earth