American Chemical Society Names 2026 Green Chemistry Challenge Award Winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, July 6, 2026 — Scientific breakthroughs that make chemistry safer, more efficient and more sustainable will be honored by the American Chemical Society’s (ACS’) Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. This year’s awards recognize outstanding work in recyclable polyurethanes, cleaner pharmaceutical manufacturing, sustainable crop protection, biodegradable polymers, PFAS-free semiconductor cooling and biocide-free marine coatings. These innovations reduce or eliminate hazardous substances, cut waste and advance environmental responsibility across industries.

"This year's Green Chemistry Challenge Award winners show how chemistry is solving real problems, from recycling materials once considered impossible to reuse to removing harmful substances from the products and processes we depend on every day," says Albert G. Horvath, ACS chief executive officer. "Congratulations to every honoree across academia and industry. Their work proves that safer, cleaner and more sustainable chemistry is not only possible but already making a lasting impact on society and the environment."

ACS will hold a live 2026 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois, during the ACS Fall Meeting. The ceremony gives winners the opportunity to be recognized by their peers and will be followed by a dinner.

The 2026 award winners for each category are:

Academic: Prof. William R. Dichtel of Northwestern University and Dr. Alaaeddin Alsbaiee of BASF Corporation are being recognized for a solid-state recycling platform that upcycles polyurethane (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 their 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, bio-based and fully biodegradable polyurethane system. With global polyurethane production exceeding 25 million tonnes 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, 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.