--- title: "Solving a $180 billion plastics problem with Protonera" id: "416743" type: "post" slug: "founder-interview-protonera" published_at: "2025-02-25T10:43:47+00:00" modified_at: "2025-02-25T10:43:47+00:00" url: "https://seedlegals.com/resources/founder-interview-protonera/" markdown_url: "https://seedlegals.com/resources/founder-interview-protonera.md" excerpt: "Jack Guo, founder of Protonera, shares how his groundbreaking technology transforms plastic waste into clean hydrogen fuel - tackling pollution while unlocking a massive renewable energy opportunity." taxonomy_category: - "Startup Guides" - "Founder Interviews" - "Video Zone" --- 1 min read Expert reviewed This article has been fact-checked by a SeedLegals subject matter expert. [Meet our experts](https://seedlegals.com/authors-and-experts/) and learn more about our review process and quality assurance in our [editorial policy](https://seedlegals.com/editorial-policy/) . # Solving a $180 billion plastics problem with Protonera Published: Feb 25, 2025 Contents [Key takeaways](#key-takeaways) [CEO and Co-FounderAnthony RoseCo-Founder and CEO](https://seedlegals.com/resources/author/anthony/) Plastic waste is a massive global problem – billions of dollars’ worth of it is burned every year, polluting our planet. But what if that waste could be turned into something valuable? That’s exactly what [Jack Guo](https://www.linkedin.com/in/czguo/) and his team at [Protonera](https://www.protonera.com/) are doing. In this inspiring conversation with [Anthony Rose](https://seedlegals.com/resources/author/anthony/) , Jack shares how his breakthrough technology transforms plastic into hydrogen fuel, a cleaner, greener alternative to traditional energy sources. - Read transcript **Anthony Rose** Hello, I’m Anthony, founder at SeedLegals, and every day I talk to amazing founders and I love helping them share their story. So today, I’m talking to Jack from Protonera. I met Jack at a startup event in London, and he was telling me about—well, Jack, tell me, what’s the problem you solve? **Jack Guo** Absolutely. Well, people burn and dump plastics, and I was just too tired of all the plastic waste that is surrounding us. **Anthony Rose** And hence, you have developed this technology that efficiently turns plastics into hydrogen. So you’ve got, from our conversation, this amazing process where enzymes eat plastic and turn it into hydrogen, which sounds like an amazing solution to an enormous problem. And this is a unique solution that you’ve developed. Tell us a bit about your background. **Jack Guo** Yes, absolutely. We discovered a set of catalysts we can use to make the process happen during my research at the University of Cambridge. And after looking at the economics, it makes sense for us to scale up and commercialize our technology. So apart from plastics in the ocean and plastics being burned, it turns out that there are huge amounts of plastics that are actually burned. **Anthony Rose** And there’s a huge dollar value on that apart from the environmental damage. So tell us a bit about that and what’s that sort of market opportunity? **Jack Guo** Absolutely. There’s over $180 billion worth of plastic being burnt by waste management facilities every year around the world. And it’s such a vast number, only because it costs so much for them to recycle it properly. Hence, we want to use our process to turn the plastic into a more valuable solution. **Anthony Rose** In order for us to turn plastic into hydrogen and capture that untapped market value. And of course, if you’re creating hydrogen, then you can use that for powering hydrogen cars, generators, and all sorts of other things. That’s amazing. Tell me, this sounds like a very capital-intensive business. So tell me the growth plan. There’s a starting point, and then you scale. Tell us a bit more about that. **Jack Guo** Absolutely. Right now, we are supported by the university, and we’re trying to scale to one kilogram of plastic per day in processing capacity. The next step for us is in three years’ time—we aim to go for production scale. Because we use catalysts, it’s relatively easy for us to scale up. So that’s the point when we expect to break even financially with our production plan. **Anthony Rose** Okay. And I’m assuming the market size is enormous. I’m assuming there are going to be government subsidies and things like that. **Jack Guo** Yes, and of course, it’s great for the planet and essential for the planet as well. **Anthony Rose** So you’re fundraising right now as well? **Jack Guo** Yes, we’re opening up our round for our first institutional investment, and we plan to fuel that also with grants as well. **Anthony Rose** All right. Now, what got you out of bed one morning thinking, “I want to create an enzyme that eats plastic”? **Jack Guo** I think it has been my long-term passion, really. I did my PhD surrounding it, and yeah, I guess I’m just a clean freak and I cannot handle all the waste plastic surrounding us. **Anthony Rose** All right, that sounds amazing. So anyone who’s interested in helping or getting involved, where do they find you? How do they contact you? **Jack Guo** We have a website, [protonera.com](http://protonera.com) , and also my LinkedIn—Jack Guo, G U O. People can feel free to contact me there. **Anthony Rose** All right, so [protonera.com](http://protonera.com) is the place to go to find out more. Amazing. I’m delighted we spoke, Jack. Thank you. **Jack Guo** Lovely. Thank you, Anthony. ## Key **takeaways** ### 🔴 The problem: plastic waste is out of control - Over $180 billion worth of plastic is burned every year because recycling it is too expensive. - Burning plastic releases toxic emissions, harming both the environment and human health. - There’s huge untapped value in plastic waste – but until now, no one has figured out a way to harness it efficiently. ### **💡**The solution: turning plastic into hydrogen fuel - Protonera’s breakthrough technology uses a special catalyst process to break down plastic into hydrogen gas. - Hydrogen is a clean, renewable energy source that can be used for cars, generators, and industry. - Unlike traditional recycling, Protonera’s process is efficient, scalable, and economically viable. ### 🚀 Protonera’s next steps: scaling up and expanding - Currently scaling up to process 1kg of plastic per day as a pilot. - Targeting full-scale production in three years, which will make the technology commercially viable. - Actively fundraising and applying for government grants to accelerate growth. 🌍 Want to be part of the clean energy revolution? Visit[protonera.com](http://protonera.com) or connect with Jack Guo on LinkedIn to learn more. The future of hydrogen starts today! ##### SeedLegals events ### Connect with fascinating founders Sign up to our newsletter and get the best of SeedLegals events delivered directly to your inbox. By subscribing, you agree to receive information from SeedLegals. You can unsubscribe anytime. View our [privacy policy](/privacy-policy/) Fundraising tips from investors Insider insights from active VCs and angels. Learn how to sidestep common pitch pitfalls, and make a stellar first impression. ## Related posts [5 min readWhy you can't validate your startup idea, and what to do insteadMost founders think they have validated their startup idea. Here is why the evidence usually fails, and the three questi... Charles Hope](https://seedlegals.com/resources/validate-your-startup-idea/) [4 min readMost founders don't think about GDPR until someone asks for their dataOf course you ignore GDPR. 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