Moonshot Madness and Smarter Textiles: Inside X, the Moonshot Factory

In the second installment our SXSW conversation with Rey Banatao and Peter Chauvel from X, the Moonshot Factory explores what it looks like to build ambitious ideas from the ground up. This episode dives into early ‘Moonshot’ experiments with textile recycling, the role biology could play in the future of materials, and how big ideas move from the whiteboard to the real world. 

We also go behind the scenes of Moonshot Madness — a company-wide tradition at X to identify big ideas that could change everything. 

• How clothing could be transformed into new, reusable materials 
• How bioplastics and synthetic biology could shape the next era of manufacturing 
• How teams at Google’s X, the Moonshot Factory test ideas— and learn as they go 
• What Moonshot Madness is, and how it fuels a culture of experimentation 
• How Rey and Peter’s experiences have influenced their approach to sustainability and innovation 

This episode encourages you to imagine what a circular future could look like across industries — from plastics to fashion and beyond. 

GUEST BIOS

Rey Banatao, Project Lead, the moonshot factory
Rey Banatao leads X’s Moonshot for Circularity. With a diverse technical and entrepreneurial background, Rey has co-founded and scaled materials science companies focused on novel bio-based and chemically recyclable polymers. Rey’s innovations have been commercialized at scale across multiple industries like sporting goods, built environment, and renewable energy, including the world’s first recyclable wind blade. The World Economic Forum recognized Rey as a Young Global Leader. Rey is also an advisor and investor in numerous sustainable materials startups, an industry advisor to the Department of Energy’s Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Development Unit at Berkeley National Labs, on the Scientific Advisory Board for the BioP2P (BioProcess to Product) Network, and was a Google for Startups Accelerator mentor for the first Circular Economy program at Google.

Peter Chauvel, Strategy and Operations Lead, the moonshot factory
Peter Chauvel leads Strategy and Operations for X’s Moonshot For Circularity. X, The Moonshot Factory, is Alphabet’s innovation lab, formerly known as Google[X]. He has nearly a decade of experience in sustainability – working to improve the lives of smallholder farmers, prevent plastics flowing into waterways and oceans, and with the Moonshot Factory on how to create a future without waste.

Mia Quinn, Senior Director, Public Affairs at American Chemistry Council
Mia Quinn leads efforts to communicate the plastics industry’s major sustainability initiatives. She works to bring together experts to share insights in key areas of sustainability, including public policy, product design, recycling, and infrastructure. She is passionate about collaboration, clear communication, and engaging audiences to learn more about innovation and modern solutions for our communities and our country. Mia has a degree in political science from Washington University in St. Louis. She grew up in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado and is a lifelong Denver Broncos fan. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two sons.