The market
In 1987, the value of sales of industrial and consumer products and services using chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) reached $135 billion worldwide. CFCs are non-toxic, non-corrosive, and non-flammable, giving the impression of being a safe group of chemicals containing chlorine, fluorine, carbon, and sometimes bromine. The chemical stability of CFCs, considered an advantage, has unintended consequences. The released chlorine atoms deplete the stratospheric ozone layer. This is why aerosols—suspensions of fine solid or liquid particles in a pressurized gas package with a propellant gas for release as a spray of particles—have avoided CFCs for decades. With the exception of a few medical applications, industry has agreed to phase out the use of CFCs. This opened the market to innovation, and a portfolio of alternative propellant chemicals, ranging from hydrocarbons (propane, butane), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), dimethyl ether (DME), and compressed propellant gases (carbon, air, nitrogen, and nitrous oxide), entered the market. Last year, approximately 15 billion containers of propellant gas were sold worldwide, with Europe leading the market with a production of over 5 billion units. Steel aerosols account for 3.6 billion units. If all of them were recycled, this would produce enough steel for over 160,000 cars. Propellant gases represent a technological platform that covers a wide variety of products: asthma inhalers, cleaning products, insect repellents, air fresheners, food products, disinfectants, paints, fire extinguishers, shaving creams, automotive care products, aviation, and microelectronics. Personal care products consume the majority of propellants, especially hairsprays and mousses. However, food products, particularly whipped cream, are experiencing steady growth. Conversely, propellant use in paints and finishes is declining. Revenue generated by consumer aerosol products in the United States at wholesale prices reaches approximately $15 billion, and nearly $40 billion worldwide.
Innovation
The search for a non-toxic, green propellant continues. Recent innovations include blending silicone oil with propane gas, but transitioning to hydrocarbon adaptations and mixtures presents a challenge: flammability. The best solution appears to be the use of compressed air. The range of applications for air as a propellant has been extended only to consumer products. Replacing CFCs used in medical applications, for which none of the existing substitutes have managed to match their performance, is a major challenge that remains largely unresolved. However, since the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered CFC inhalers for the treatment of asthma and lung diseases withdrawn from the market, the race for radical innovations is on. Andy McIntosh, Professor of Thermodynamics and Combustion Theory at the University of Leeds (UK), has examined the bomber's spray mechanism. Although only 2 centimeters long, the beetle defends itself against ants and spiders with a cocktail of vapor and toxins that it can spit up to 20 centimeters away. Professor McIntosh was inspired by slow-motion footage produced by Cornell University entomologist Tom Eisner showing how the beetle expels the fluid in a series of rapid pulses, increasing pressure, then ejecting, resulting in a pressure drop that allows more fluid to enter through negative pressure, and then increasing pressure again. The beetle does this 500 times per second, something no mechanical engineer has been able to achieve. Yet, the insect's physiology inspired a team of researchers to combine heating and flash evaporation techniques to propel liquids from a small chamber up to 4 meters away. The innovation represents a fundamental shift from any existing solution on the market: propeller gases are replaced by "no gas." This falls into a specific category of innovation described in the blue economy as "substituting something for nothing," serving as a means to bring our production and consumption system to much higher levels of sustainability.
The first cash flow
Replacing a gas (a chemical) with a heating and evaporation (physical) technique offers unique advantages to the system provider, a process that has been likened to a pressure cooker with valves. The research and prototype results led to a new misting technology that has been patented and is about to be commercialized under the brand name µMist™. This innovation has the potential to become the next generation of nebulizer systems with applications in fire extinguishers, fuel injection for combustion engines, needle-free injections for vaccines, and inhalers for asthma patients. It is a technological platform that could penetrate all industries that once relied on CFCs. However, the first entry point for this technology may well be in the medical field. The fine misting of medicine into the lungs of patients with respiratory illnesses without the use of any chemicals represents a major benefit.
The opportunity
Lars-Uno Larsson, a Swedish entrepreneur with extensive experience in bringing innovative products to market, has acquired the worldwide commercialization rights to the University of Leeds' new misting technology. His investment vehicle, Biomimetics 3000, focuses on nature-inspired innovations, securing early-stage financial, technical, legal, and management support. It rapidly transforms inventions into commercial technologies by combining multiple disciplines and engaging the right industry partners, thus accelerating product launches. While the search for CFC alternatives has motivated many to seek substitutes, no one has truly ventured into a technological option that offers such a wide range of opportunities and a vast platform for entrepreneurs. The fact that a $100 billion+ market for the propellant gas industry and the consumer market is facing a fundamental shift in core competencies means that many companies pursuing core activities risk losing market share to highly enterprising firms adopting these hardware solutions. It also represents a tremendous opportunity for entrepreneurs to license the technology and develop their creative approach around this revolutionary technology across more than 50 sectors of the economy.
