The Amazon Climate Technology Venture Fund was established in 2020 with a $2 billion commitment to invest in companies developing potential solutions to emissions reductions and environmental sustainability efforts. On Wednesday, the company announced its support for its 25th venture, an early-stage San Francisco startup led by women. glacier The company is building the next generation of AI-guided recycling robots.
of climate change pledge fund New Enterprise Associates deserves attention Glacier's $7.7 million fund raiser, which brings the company's total funding to $13 million. Other investors in this batch include AlleyCorp, Overture VC, and VSC Ventures. Amazon's participation marks her second investment in the Women Founders Initiative, a dedicated pool of $53 million.
Recycling robot market revenue Material recovery facilities (MRFs) are struggling with staffing shortages and the huge amount of specialized materials expected to be processed in the U.S. alone, nearly 300 million tons in 2018, resulting in a total cost of more than $10 billion by 2030. is predicted to reach.
„To build a future where new materials can be recycled at scale, we need to test options for putting these materials through the recycling system,“ said Nick Ellis, director of the Climate Pledge Fund. “Partnering with Glacier will allow us to test the role of new recycling technologies based on AI and robotics, which will ultimately allow us to identify and aggregate new packaging materials that can be recycled and reused. .”
Some of the unique value propositions promoted by Glacier include:
- The cost-effectiveness of the technology. Glacier has not disclosed pricing, but its co-founders said the cost of its robots is significantly lower than other technologies, and the equipment can expect a return on investment within a year. Some recycling robots Costs up to $300,000;
- The robustness of artificial intelligence software that can identify more than 30 materials, from aluminum cans to toothpaste tubes.and
- The company's robots have the ability to squeeze into tight spaces, where other recycling robots are too large to fit.
Ellis said Amazon will collect data from the Northern California MRF commercial pilot site and provide manufacturers with information on how they can increase recycling recovery rates and use it toward waste reduction and circular economy goals. The company is currently considering how to select materials that can be returned.
Glacier plans to provide this type of insight across the entire recycling ecosystem, from product manufacturers to recycling facilities and material recovery companies. „Glacier is a great example of how we can be a catalytic investor, a catalytic customer and a convener,“ he said.
Amazon's interest in industrial equipment
Glacier is one of several industrial hardware companies supported by the Climate Pledge Fund. Here are three other portfolio companies that are disrupting traditional processes.
- CMC Packaging Automationmanufactures the system Amazon uses to custom-fit cardboard boxes, eliminating waste and the necessary cushioning made from single-use plastic
- sequoia woodan EV battery recycling startup led by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel.
- sunfire, a 14-year-old European company developing electrolyzers for green hydrogen.Could play a role in Amazon's warehouses and logistics network
Ellis said Amazon has not disclosed how much of the Climate Pledge funds have been distributed or the exact amount that is being put into Glacier. The fund's most notable investment is a $1 billion injection into Rivian, an electric van company that builds more than 100,000 vehicles for delivery.
When does recycling robots make sense?
Automation technology such as robots equipped with AI This is to help MRF build capacity and create a revenue stream to sell recovered materials to manufacturers who want to achieve their goals of using recycled content in their products and packaging. is considered essential.
They work using sensors and software intelligence to visually identify materials of the same type and separate them from the waste stream.2 other than glaciers Companies trying to play a role teeth Amplifier and tomura.
In addition to selling its technology to MRFs, Glacier will provide information that can be used to adapt product design and packaging characteristics in an effort to improve recycling rates, said co-founder Rebecca Hu. They also hope to provide it to manufacturers.
According to Glacier, up to 80 percent of recyclable household items never make it into the recycling system. As just one example, plastic collection rates in the United States are estimated at 5-6% per year. While many companies advertise their intention to add recycled content back into their products, the reality is that systems do not process enough to meet that demand cost-effectively.
Miriam Holsinger, co-director of Eureka Recycling, a nonprofit recycling company in Minneapolis, said recycling facilities have difficulty hiring skilled workers and deploy robots in „places where it's more difficult for sorters to do their work.“ He said he is considering it.
Holsinger said cost is an issue in deploying recycling robots, and other considerations include capital investment and the need to install accompanying air compressors and train staff to maintain more complex equipment. pointed out both. Using robots may also require MRFs to redesign the location of conveyors and collection chutes, Holsinger said.
„However, they are promising, especially if people cannot cope with the task,“ she says.