Will a top U.S. chemical or oil and gas company join the BOTTLE consortium as an industry partner by 31 August 2023?
Synthetic biology has shown promise both in breaking down plastics through enzymatic recycling and microbiome engineering as well as producing new bio-based plastics. Yet as the energy sector moves away from fossil fuels, oil and gas companies are increasingly looking to the production of plastics and other petrochemical products as a “plan B” (CNBC, Marketplace). The Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE) consortium is a research consortium with the goal of developing new ways to break down, upcycle, and re-design plastics at scale. This consortium is led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office and Bioenergy Technologies Office and members include U.S. National Laboratories and research universities (NREL).
Currently, BOTTLE lists Amazon, KraftHeinz, The Ocean Foundation, and Patagonia as its industry partners. For the purposes of this question, a “top U.S. chemical or oil and gas company” refers to any "USA" company listed in the top 20 of either the Largest chemical companies by market cap or the Largest oil and gas companies by market cap lists on companiesmarketcap.com. At the time of question publication, these companies are:
Currently, BOTTLE lists Amazon, KraftHeinz, The Ocean Foundation, and Patagonia as its industry partners. For the purposes of this question, a “top U.S. chemical or oil and gas company” refers to any "USA" company listed in the top 20 of either the Largest chemical companies by market cap or the Largest oil and gas companies by market cap lists on companiesmarketcap.com. At the time of question publication, these companies are:
- Air Products and Chemicals (APD)
- Corteva (CTVA)
- Dow (DOW)
- Albermarle (ALB)
- PPG Industries (PPG)
- Dupont De Nemours (DD)
- Exxon Mobil (XOM)
- Chevron (CVX)
- ConocoPhillips (COP)
- Duke Energy (DUK)
- Southern Company (SO)
- EOG Resources (EOG)
- Occidental Petroleum (OXY)
Outcome
| Outcome | Final crowd forecast | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 0% | Did not happen |
“Final crowd forecast” is the last aggregate crowd probability computed before the question closed – the right-hand end of the chart below, which this table is the accessible equivalent of.