Breaking the Oil Habit: How Synthetic Bacteria Could Revolutionize Chemical Production

The chemical industry primarily depends on fossil resources like crude oil to manufacture a range of chemicals, including plastics, dyes, and synthetic flavors.

“Globally, it consumes 500 million tons per year, or more than one million tons per day,” says Julia Vorholt, Professor at the Institute of Microbiology at ETH Zurich. “Since these chemical conversions are energy-​intensive, the true CO2 footprint of the chemical industry is even six to ten times larger, amounting to about five percent of total emissions globally.” She and her team are looking for ways to reduce the chemical industry’s dependence on fossil fuels.