PRESS RELEASE
DATE: AUGUST 24, 2021
SIX female leaders are embarking on an intrepid 15 day sailing voyage from Iceland to Greenland on a new climate action mission. The team will be piloting new adventure equipment materials created from recycled plastic and captured CO2.
The expedition will be made by Team UMIAQ, an all-female team of explorers, sailors, scientists, filmmakers and sustainability experts. They will be researching microplastic pollution and ice melt in the Arctic region, testing an on-board renewable energy desalination and navigation system, and capturing the journey on film.
The team will also be piloting new adventure equipment materials created from recycled plastic and captured CO2. The gear has been developed over the past 12 months by Expedition Air and GROUNDTRUTH Global. The materials produced through a novel carbon utilization technology have also been applied to Team UMIAQs Helly Hansen jackets using Expedition Air’s captured carbon ink.
The newly innovated hardware and textiles use a combination of recycled plastics and nanoparticles containing solidified anthropogenic CO2 captured from point source emissions. Expedition Air aims to create products that enable a low carbon future. Madison Savilow, Venture Lead for Expedition Air, says that “not only does this expedition aid in demystifying carbon utilization in consumer products but it shows how materials that do good and made with captured CO2 are high performance. We’re honoured to see our materials used by Helly Hansen and GROUNDTRUTH on such an incredible, climate-driven sailing trip.”
The mission is focusing on data and technology as Team UMIAQ explores previously unreachable points of Greenland that have never been researched but are now accessible due to climate change. The team of scientists onboard will be collecting samples for microplastics and heavy metals analysis which will be tested by the National Oceanography Centre at the University of Southampton.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Madison Savilow
Venture Lead, Expedition Air
madison@expeditionair.today
(403) 862-3712
Notes to editor:
Photos courtesy of GROUNDTRUTH Global
Expedition Air was founded on the idea that every product consumers interact with should enable a low carbon future. A spin-out from NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE X-Factor Winner, Carbon Upcycling Technologies, Expedition Air integrates advanced solid additives derived from greenhouse emissions and cheaply available solids into the consumer products industry.
The additives offer performance benefits such as reduced cycle time for injection molded parts, increased tensile strength, improved resistance to friction, and more. Additionally, the additives reduce the carbon footprint of consumer products by up to 90%.
Each consumer product made by Expedition Air acts as a carbon sink. Since 2019, Expedition Air has had over 25 product development collaborations.
Expedition Air can be found on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
Carbon Upcycling Technologies (“CUT”) was formed to use the pollution of today to build the materials of tomorrow by converting CO2 gas into solid products. CUT has been validated as one of the world’s top carbon utilization companies as a winner of the X-Factor Award in the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE. CUT sells advanced solid products derived from greenhouse emissions and cheaply available solids. Since 2014, CUT has scaled its ability to capture CO2 emissions from point sources, such as power plants, by over a million times. Through its portfolio of CO2-derived solid nanoparticles, CUT has technically validated its solutions for use in the plastics, coatings, epoxy, adhesives, concrete, lithium-ion battery, pharmaceutical industries, and consumer products. Carbon Upcycling Technologies started developing consumer products made from its captured carbon materials in 2019, and in 2021 launched Expedition Air as its consumer-facing brand.
As well as their own investigative approach, GROUNTRUTH refers to the principles of the Bluesign system and the Global Recycled Standard for production guidance. GROUNDTRUTH was shortlisted for the Dezeen Wearable Design Award 2020 and won the Public Vote. In December 2020, the company was named in GEAR OF THE YEAR by Wired for the RIKR 15L Technical Tote.
Unique to GROUNDTRUTH is their high-performance textile, GT-RK-OO1, manufactured from 100% recycled PET which uses plastic waste from landfill sites, waterways and oceans. The GT-RK-001 was shortlisted for the Drapers Sustainable Textile Innovation Awards 2021.
Through open reporting and precise calculation, GROUNDTRUTH have so far offset 113 tonnes of CO2 by buying carbon credits from the Mai Ndombe project from Wildlife’s work in the Congo. GROUNDTRUTH has an exclusivity agreement with Carbon Upcycling Technologies for the bag and accessories market and textiles.
Watch a short video on the GROUNDTRUTH x Expedition Air partnership here. GROUNDTRUTH has an exclusivity agreement with Expedition Air for the bag and accessories market and textiles.
Founded in Norway in 1877, Helly Hansen continues to develop professional-grade apparel that helps people stay and feel alive. Through insights drawn from living and working in the world’s harshest environments, the company has developed a long list of first-to-market innovations, including the first supple waterproof fabrics more than 140 years ago. Other breakthroughs include the first fleece fabrics in the 1960s, the first technical base layers in the 1970s, made with Lifa® Stay Dry Technology, and today’s award winning and patented H2Flow™ temperature regulating system.
Helly Hansen is a leader in technical sailing and performance ski apparel, as well as premium workwear. Its uniforms are worn and trusted by more than 50,000 professionals and can be found on Olympians, National Teams, and at more than 200 ski resorts and mountain guiding operations around the world.
Helly Hansen’s outerwear, base layers, sportswear, and footwear are sold in more than 40 countries and trusted by outdoor professionals and enthusiasts around the world. To learn more about Helly Hansen’s latest collections, please visit: www.hellyhansen.com.