Key Points
- Closed-loop aim: HuskPlus™ combines ~48% waste plastic with ~52% bio-based HuskPure™ to meet performance specs without virgin plastic, targeting long-life construction uses.
- Safety by design: Feedstock is pre-melted and pelletised at >120 °C for sterilisation; chemically contaminated plastics are excluded, and food-contact items are avoided.
- Carbon focus: Formulations and process design pursue carbon-neutral/low-carbon outcomes; biggest constraint is factory energy use, which IH seeks to reduce via simpler, lower-energy steps.
- Real-world traction: An Innovate UK-funded R&D with a major carmaker is replacing selected plastic parts with IH composites to lower footprint.
- Pipeline & tooling: New recipes (HuskZero™, HuskPlant™) extend into inorganic and plant-fibre wastes; a real-time AI carbon-data system (with One Click LCA) helps producers track and cut emissions.
Full interview with Incredible Husk
How do you envision the impact of Husk Plus™ on global plastic waste and the circular economy in the coming years?
While recycling plastics has been the common approach to reducing global plastic waste, recycled plastics are often of worsened quality, resulting in a situation known as downcycling. The production of viable products from recycled plastics can be problematic as it requires the input of virgin plastics (in other words, new plastic) to ensure proper feasibility and performance. Although a smaller portion of virgin plastic is used in this approach, it does not provide a proper path to completely phase out the demand for more new plastics, which feeds into a cycle that would go on and on.
The HuskPlus™ formulation can be a breakthrough in disrupting this toxic cycle. The HuskPlus™ formulation consists of waste plastic and agricultural by-products or fiber biomass bound by our bio-polymer binder, allowing it to create viable products that can perform up to the requirements of our clientele, eliminating the need for virgin plastic. On the other hand, our main end-product targets are permanent use construction materials like wall panels and so on to hold plastic waste out of the waste stream for a considerable time, thereby reducing plastic pollution.
How do you assess the quality and safety of the final product, especially when incorporating various forms of plastic waste?
The general composition of our HuskPlus™ formulation involves a combination of 48% waste plastic with 52% HuskPure™ formulation. HuskPlus™ is mainly suited for the permanent use of non-food contact construction materials like wall panels and such to keep plastic waste out of the waste stream.
To create any product using HuskPlus™, waste plastics will go through a pre-melting and palletising process at a temperature of more than 120 °C, which will sterilise them of pathogens. It is worth noting that we avoid repurposing waste plastic contaminated by toxic chemicals (eg. specialised chemical or chemical waste containers) as it poses health and safety concerns.
We avoid using HuskPlus™ to make food-contact items to reduce consumer health and safety concerns that may arise from exposure to contaminated waste plastic. The overall quality and performance of the end product will be tested to the various industry parameters by accredited labs or institutions.
What are the most common barriers you encounter in your approach to sustainable manufacturing, and how do you help partners overcome them?
Our approach to sustainable manufacturing is to design an A-to-Z process that would achieve carbon neutrality, and if not, low carbon emission. The most common barrier Incredible Husk has encountered in designing a solution to carbon neutrality is energy usage. Every emission associated with the material’s beginnings to its collection, subsequent manufacturing process, transportation, and end-of-life of the resulting product is considered when attempting to reach low carbon or carbon neutrality.
While our formulations (HuskPure™, HuskPlus™, HuskZero™, HuskPlant™) offer a solution that can be recycled or composted and are waste byproducts of the agriculture industry, the client’s manufacturing process must be adapted or adjusted accordingly to further facilitate the goal of low-carbon emission. One challenge is electricity use. We're looking into simplifying these processes and exploring lower-energy alternatives to help achieve carbon neutrality.
Apart from that, it is also quite challenging to secure an aligned mindset with clients in terms of product performance. There are certain trade-offs and advantages when working with alternative materials compared to conventional ones. Clients are often dead set on achieving a performance akin to the properties of the original, which poses an issue to the overall progress of the project.
The only approach to overcome this is patience; to remind them again and again about the differences to secure alignment and that there will be pros (eg. achieving carbon neutrality/low carbon footprint) and cons (eg. Products won’t last as long as conventional plastic!) in whatever we do.
Incredible Husk International is open to partnerships in recycling innovation and R&D. Can you share a successful case study where collaboration has led to significant material innovation?
We have managed to secure keen interest from a prestigious car company to start an R&D project with us for the replacement of plastic car parts with our alternate materials, which will assist the car company in reducing their carbon footprint and financial impacts according to the 2050 Carbon Neutral global target.
This particular R&D project won an Innovate UK Grant in September 2023, and we are now moving into Q3 of this 18-month funded project with promising progress.
Looking to the future, what are the next steps for Incredible Husk International in terms of product development, market expansion, and furthering your environmental impact? Are there new materials or applications you are currently exploring?
We wish to expand the shift towards carbon neutrality across more industries and national boundaries, and we would like to seize the opportunity to capitalise on our and our partner’s multinational outlook to achieve greater benefit for all and the environment. Hence, we always welcome new collaborations because there can be more directions to explore together.
Material-wise, we are currently developing two new formulas- The HuskZero™ (inorganic wastes bound with special bio-based binder) and HuskPlant™ (waste plant fiber biomass bound with bio-based binder), which would allow us to utilise different biomass wastes better and take them out of potential polluting waste streams and revitalise them into something environmentally responsible for our society.
Incredible Husk International is also developing an AI Real-Time Carbon Emission Data Capture and Storage system that comprises both hardware and software components partnering with One Click LCA. The AI Real-Time system is designed to provide producers with a real-time carbon emission overview of their operation and assist in identifying problem areas. The system will give a clearer picture to design proper solutions for effective carbon emission reduction. Besides that, the data collected can help expedite third-party auditing and certification processes as well as ascertain carbon emission levels to keep track of the producer’s progress towards the 2050 Carbon Neutral Goal.
