When people think about climate technology, carbon capture is often associated with large industrial facilities and complex engineering systems. Mark Herrema approached the problem from a different direction. His work has focused on using biology and materials science to transform greenhouse gases into useful materials that can potentially replace conventional plastics. As the co-founder and chief executive officer of Newlight Technologies, he has spent years developing this idea and bringing it closer to commercial use.
His career combines entrepreneurship, science, materials development, and environmental innovation. Rather than treating greenhouse gas only as a waste product, the technology developed by his company explores whether it can become a resource for making everyday products. This approach has made Herrema a recognizable figure in the field of climate-focused materials.
Who Is Mark Herrema?
Mark Herrema is an American entrepreneur best known as the co-founder and CEO of Newlight Technologies. The company is focused on producing biomaterials from greenhouse gases by using microorganisms found in nature. Herrema has been involved with the company since its early development and has helped guide its research, technology development, partnerships, and commercial expansion.
The World Economic Forum has previously described him as a Technology Pioneer and highlighted his experience in chemical and biological engineering, intellectual property development, polymer functionalization, finance, and strategic business development. His background is unusual because it combines technical research with the business skills needed to turn an experimental idea into a commercial technology.
Much of his professional identity is therefore connected to one central question: can greenhouse gases be transformed into useful products instead of simply being released into the environment?
Mark Herrema and His Princeton Education
Herrema attended Princeton University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Politics and Political Theory. His academic work also included physics, mathematics, and chemistry, giving him exposure to both the social and scientific sides of problem-solving.
His time at Princeton played an important role in shaping the idea that eventually became Newlight Technologies. According to Princeton Alumni Weekly, the concept developed while he was a student and became connected to his interest in market-based approaches to major global problems.
This combination of interests helped shape his later career. Instead of approaching climate change exclusively as a political or regulatory issue, Herrema became interested in whether technology and commercial markets could create practical solutions that businesses and consumers would actually adopt.
How Newlight Technologies Began
Newlight Technologies was founded in 2003, with Herrema and Kenton Kimmel among its founders. The company began with a long research process focused on understanding how microorganisms could convert greenhouse gases into a useful material.
The concept was inspired by processes that already occur in nature. Microorganisms can consume carbon dioxide or methane and use carbon as part of their biological growth. Newlight’s researchers worked to reproduce a similar process under controlled conditions.
According to the company’s history, it took about a decade of research before the technology reached a significant breakthrough. In 2013, Newlight demonstrated the technology at larger scale by using microorganisms from nature to produce PHB from air and methane-based greenhouse gas dissolved in saltwater.
The lengthy development period illustrates why climate technology can take years to move from an interesting scientific concept to something that can be manufactured consistently.
What Is AirCarbon?
One of the most important parts of Mark Herrema’s work is AirCarbon, the name Newlight gives to its biomaterial. AirCarbon is based on PHB, or polyhydroxybutyrate, a material that occurs naturally in living organisms.
Newlight uses microorganisms to produce PHB using air, greenhouse gas, water, minerals, and energy. Once the material is separated and purified, it can be melted and formed into different shapes.
This is important because many conventional plastics are made from fossil-fuel-based feedstocks. AirCarbon represents a different material pathway: instead of starting with petroleum, the process uses biological systems to turn greenhouse gas into a solid material.
Newlight says AirCarbon can be used in forms including fibers, sheets, and molded parts. The company also describes applications in foodware, packaging, fashion, and other product categories.
How the Carbon-Capture Process Works
The basic idea behind the technology is easier to understand when compared with a natural process. Trees take carbon from the atmosphere and incorporate it into biological material. Certain microorganisms also consume greenhouse gases and convert carbon into compounds that help them grow.
Newlight’s process attempts to use this natural behavior in an industrial setting. Selected microorganisms are placed in controlled conditions and supplied with the resources they need to grow. As they consume greenhouse gas, they produce PHB inside their cells.
The PHB is then separated, purified, dried, and processed into a usable biomaterial.
Newlight’s technology platform is designed around this concept. The company describes using microorganisms, greenhouse gas, air, water, minerals, and energy to produce AirCarbon.
The significance of this process is not simply that it captures carbon. The captured carbon becomes part of a physical product, which gives the technology a potential connection between carbon management and the materials industry.
Mark Herrema’s Role in Climate Technology
Mark Herrema has played a leadership role in developing Newlight’s technology from an early research project into a company pursuing commercial applications. His responsibilities have included technology development, intellectual property, strategic partnerships, fundraising, and business development.
The World Economic Forum has noted his involvement in proprietary carbon-capture and conversion systems and materials, as well as associated U.S. and international patents.
His approach also reflects an important idea in climate technology: environmental solutions need to work economically as well as scientifically. A material that can reduce dependence on conventional plastic has to meet practical requirements such as strength, flexibility, manufacturing compatibility, and cost before it can reach a large market.
Applications of AirCarbon
AirCarbon has been developed for a variety of potential applications. Foodware is one of the most visible areas because the material can be molded into products such as utensils, straws, plates, and bowls.
The material has also been explored for fashion applications. Newlight has described work involving fibers and leather alternatives, demonstrating how biomaterials could potentially be used beyond traditional packaging.
Automotive applications represent another area of interest. Newlight has reported partnerships involving automotive materials, showing how the technology could potentially extend into industries where durability and performance are important.
These applications are significant because replacing conventional plastic is not limited to one type of product. Different industries require different material properties, so the ability to process a biomaterial into different forms is an important part of its commercial potential.
Recognition and Industry Attention
The work associated with Mark Herrema and Newlight Technologies has received attention from technology, environmental, and business organizations over the years.
Newlight’s technology has been recognized through awards including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award in 2016. The company’s technology has also received recognition from organizations including R&D Magazine and the World Economic Forum.
Herrema was also included in TIME’s 2023 climate leadership coverage, reflecting growing interest in entrepreneurs working on technologies related to emissions, materials, and climate solutions.
Recognition does not by itself determine whether a technology will succeed commercially, but it demonstrates that the concept has attracted attention beyond the company’s own research and development efforts.
Recent Developments at Newlight Technologies
Newlight has continued developing its AirCarbon platform and expanding its commercial ambitions. The company’s published information records a $125 million equity financing round led by GenZero in August 2023.
The company has also continued pursuing partnerships and industry applications. Its media archive lists a 2025 selection for the Amazon Devices Climate Tech Accelerator, indicating continued interest in applying climate technology to commercial product development.
These developments show that Newlight’s story has moved beyond laboratory research. The larger challenge is now demonstrating that materials made through this approach can be produced consistently and economically at the scale required by modern industries.
Is Mark Herrema’s Net Worth Public?
There is no reliable, publicly confirmed figure for Mark Herrema’s personal net worth. Because Newlight Technologies is a private company, detailed information about individual ownership stakes, compensation, and personal assets is not generally available in the same way it might be for executives of publicly traded corporations.
Various websites may publish estimated figures, but such numbers should be treated cautiously unless they are supported by credible financial documentation. An accurate biography should distinguish between verified information and online speculation.
Mark Herrema’s Personal Life
Most reliable public information about Mark Herrema focuses on his professional career, education, technology work, and Newlight Technologies. Detailed information about his private family life is not widely documented by authoritative sources.
For that reason, claims about a spouse, family members, or other personal details should not be presented as established facts unless they can be supported by dependable sources. His public profile is primarily centered on entrepreneurship and climate technology.
Why His Work Matters
The central idea behind Herrema’s work is relatively straightforward: carbon can be viewed not only as a problem but also as a potential raw material.
Traditional plastics have played an enormous role in modern life, but their dependence on fossil resources and their persistence in the environment have created significant challenges. Biomaterials such as AirCarbon are part of a broader effort to develop alternatives that use different feedstocks and can interact more naturally with biological systems.
The technology still faces the practical challenges common to emerging materials, including manufacturing scale, economics, supply chains, performance requirements, and adoption. Nevertheless, the concept demonstrates how biotechnology and materials science can be combined to approach environmental problems from a different angle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Mark Herrema?
Mark Herrema is the co-founder and CEO of Newlight Technologies, a company developing biomaterials from greenhouse gases.
What is Mark Herrema known for?
He is primarily known for his work on carbon-conversion technology and the development of AirCarbon through Newlight Technologies.
What is AirCarbon?
AirCarbon is a PHB-based biomaterial made by microorganisms using air and greenhouse gas. It can be melted and formed into different products.
Did Mark Herrema attend Princeton?
Yes. He graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in Politics and Political Theory and also studied areas including physics, mathematics, and chemistry.
Is Mark Herrema’s net worth known?
No reliable public source confirms his exact personal net worth. Online estimates should therefore be treated as unverified.
Conclusion
Mark Herrema’s career is closely tied to an ambitious idea: using biology to turn greenhouse gas into useful materials. Through Newlight Technologies, he has helped develop AirCarbon and worked to move the concept from years of research toward commercial applications.
His background at Princeton, experience in technology development, and leadership at Newlight have placed him within the growing field of climate-focused materials innovation. While the long-term impact of AirCarbon will depend on factors such as scale, cost, performance, and widespread adoption, the work represents an interesting attempt to connect carbon capture with everyday manufacturing.
For anyone researching climate technology, biomaterials, or entrepreneurs working on alternatives to conventional plastics, Mark Herrema’s story provides a useful example of how scientific ideas can evolve into commercial technologies
