ACS Announces 2026 Green Chemistry Challenge Award Winners

On July 6, 2026, the American Chemical Society (ACS) announced the winners of the 2026 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. According to ACS, the 2026 awards “recognize outstanding work in recyclable polyurethanes [PU], cleaner pharmaceutical manufacturing, sustainable crop protection, biodegradable polymers, [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)]-free semiconductor cooling and biocide-free marine coatings.” ACS notes that these innovations “reduce or eliminate hazardous substances, cut waste and advance environmental responsibility across industries.” The winners include:

• Academic: Professor William R. Dichtel of Northwestern University and Dr. Alaaeddin Alsbaiee of BASF Corporation are being recognized for a solid-state recycling platform that upcycles PU foams and elastomers, materials typically considered non-recyclable because of their cross-linked thermoset structure. The Northwestern-BASF innovation uses low-toxicity metal and organic catalysts to activate carbamate exchange within PU networks, converting them into covalent adaptable networks during processing without depolymerization, solvents, or more toxic catalysts. The short-loop process turns post-industrial and post-consumer PU foams and elastomers directly into high-value foams, elastomers, and composites.

• Greener Synthetic Pathways in the Synthesis of Pharmaceuticals: NewAmsterdam Pharma and Snapdragon Chemistry are being recognized for developing and scaling an organocatalyzed asymmetric Povarov cyclization to manufacture the chiral tetrahydroquinoline core of obicetrapib, a highly selective cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor in late-stage development for treating dyslipidemia. The condition affects tens of millions of Americans who do not reach target low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels with existing therapies.

• Greener Synthetic Pathways in the Manufacture of Agrochemicals: Corteva Agriscience™ is being recognized for Adavelt™ active, a naturally inspired fungicide that controls 20 diseases across more than 30 crops while offering favorable environmental and toxicological profiles. Building on its first-generation supply route, Corteva developed an improved process that eliminated three protecting groups, four steps, and the use of precious metals, and replaced undesirable reagents with greener alternatives.

• Product, Chemical and Process Design for Circularity or Degradability: IFF is being recognized for its Designed Enzymatic Biomaterials™ (DEB) platform, which produces high-performance, renewable, and biodegradable polymers through precision enzyme-catalyzed polymerization under mild, scalable conditions. The technology matches the performance of incumbent fossil-based materials while reducing climate impact and enabling circular end-of-life pathways.

• Design and Manufacture of Materials for Energy Applications: Standard H2 is being recognized for the SULFUR MAGNET^®, a regenerable filter media made primarily of mixed oxides of copper and other metals. The adsorption material efficiently removes sulfur to enable compact, cost-effective purification of feed streams for fuel cell applications, syngas-based processes, and more, dramatically extending catalyst lifetime and reducing system complexity.

• Efficient and Impactful Valorization of Biomass: Corteva Agriscience™ is being recognized for Utrisha^® N, a biological nutrient efficiency optimizer that enhances crop nutrition through a living foliar endophyte, Methylobacterium symbioticum SB23. Its second-generation manufacturing process raises biomass concentration early in fermentation and cuts energy and water requirements while keeping an identical final formulation. The technology complements conventional fertilizer programs while avoiding volatilization and leaching losses.

• Design of Safer Chemicals: PPG is being recognized for SIGMAGLIDE^® 2390, a biocide-free, silicone-based fouling-release coating that improves vessel efficiency while eliminating the release of toxic antifoulants. Its HydroReset Technology senses the presence of water and reorganizes the coating surface at the nanoscale, creating an ultra-smooth, ultra-low-friction interface that marine organisms do not recognize as a suitable surface for permanent attachment.

• Small Business: Algenesis Labs is being recognized for Soleic^®, a high-performance, biobased, and fully biodegradable PU system. With global PU production exceeding 25 million metric tons annually and driving substantial microplastic pollution, Soleic replaces fossil-fuel monomers with plant-based alternatives so the material stays stable during use but degrades microbially at end-of-life. It is already used in footwear, consumer goods, three dimensional (3D) printing, and coated fabrics.

• Climate Change: Micron is being recognized for the replacement of PFAS-based heat transfer fluids in semiconductor dry etch chambers with a fully fluorine-free, biodegradable, and low-global-warming-potential (GWP) alternative.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.