Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute has built what it says is the world's first demonstration system for making carbon-negative polycarbonate from CO2 captured from flue gas. The process aims to use waste CO2 as a raw material for a common plastic, rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. That could lower the carbon footprint of polymer production if the energy used in the process is clean. Carbon-negative claims depend on the full lifecycle, not just the capture step. Regulators and buyers will want to see how the CO2 is accounted for, whether it stays locked in the product for decades, and what the energy and cost numbers look like at scale. This demo is an early step, but the technology still has to prove itself commercially.
