In the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Egypt’s Minister of the Environment, Dr. Yasmine Fouad, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), committing to cooperation between the Egyptian government and sustainable innovation company, Okeanos Egypt. Okeanos Egypt is a joint venture between Okeanos Group, a US based sustainable technology company, and Income International, leading Egyptian petroleum and industrial services company. The memorandum outlines the government’s support for reducing plastic content and carbon emissions in packaging and single-use items by more than half, using calcium carbonate.
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As the host nation of the forthcoming Conference of the Parties (COP27) in November in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian government will serve as a voice for all African nations. As such, Egypt intends to lead by example, introducing proactive environmental initiatives and fostering innovative technical solutions like Made From Stone, to tackle the world’s climate challenges. “The project in Egypt represents an opportunity for the country to lead the way in adopting real sustainable solutions to plastic pollution,” explained Dr. Yasmine Fouad.
Okeanos’ patented Made From Stone technology makes it possible to immediately replace the majority of traditional resin with calcium carbonate, a naturally abundant and renewable mineral. Through biomimicry, the technology aims to emulate the eggshell, nature’s perfect package, comprised of 97% calcium carbonate bound together by proteins. This upstream solution reduces an item’s virgin plastic content and carbon emissions and can be made to be recyclable or biodegradable. Okeanos continues to work toward further reductions in overall plastic content through the ongoing development of natural binders and degradants.
Okeanos Egypt plans to invest in a plant to make its patented product for local manufacturers tapping into a vast deposit of previously underutilized calcium carbonate, replacing nearly $3 billion in feedstock imports. Here, locally sourced Egyptian calcium carbonate will be processed with Egyptian labor to produce technical compounds that can be utilized by leading Egyptian brands. Made From Stone compounds are designed to be run on existing plastics manufacturing equipment without any further capital investment.