P&G is using artificial intelligence to develop “high-performance cleaning enzymes for cold water conditions”.
The fmcg giant is working with Basecamp Research on the effort, which will focus on “learning from organisms adapted to cold environments” to “design novel enzymes”.
Basecamp Research has created the first “foundational biological dataset purpose-built for AI”, collected through partnerships with biodiversity-rich countries around the world. “The unprecedented pace and scale of its growing knowledge of new genomic information empowers its AI platform to create advanced proteins designed to carry out specific functions across a range of conditions, from the cold temperatures of glaciers to the extreme heat of geysers,” it says.
Enzymes are biological catalysts that accelerate chemical reactions in living organisms. They play a crucial role in everything from food to therapeutics and for this partnership, Basecamp Research will “zero in on enzymes that dissolve stains on clothing and surfaces”.
“We’ll leverage our unparalleled view of the tree of life and our breakthrough AI platform that makes protein design programmable,” said Dr Oliver Vince, co-founder of Basecamp Research. “We’re excited to partner with leaders in this field and demonstrate a fundamentally different approach.”
P&G has been working to promote cold washing of laundry among consumers, with its own product lifecycle assessment finding almost 70% of a laundry load’s carbon footprint is in the consumer use phase, chiefly from the energy used to heat water.
In 2021 it launched its #TurntoCold campaign, with a North American advertising campaign featuring Ice-T and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin cold-calling consumers to convince them to switch to cold water washing with Tide.
The aim of the latest work is to increase effectiveness at lower wash temperatures to reduce the need for hot water – “which is better for the environment and heating bills” the company says.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Basecamp Research on this initiative, working together to develop new solutions by combining their unique view of nature and AI capability with our extensive innovation mastery to deliver a superior consumer experience,” said Dr Phil Souter, senior director, laundry research and development at P&G.
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