. >> debbie mielewski started the lab back in 2001 with soy foam. >> oil was about $40 a barrel and so nobody saw a reason to use plant based materials, even though there was an environmental improvement. when we launched our soy based foams, oil was about $150 a barrel and so suddenly what was a very poorly received idea, was very well received. >> instead of a petroleum base, the foam in every seat in north america is made of michigan soy. and now, the lab is testing algae oil with its more global reach. plastics researcher ellen lee gave techknow the first public look at this newest experimental foam. >> i'm gonna have you add in a surfactant, this one, and that kinda acts like the egg in a mayonnaise to blend everything together. and then i'm gonna have you add the blowing agent which in our case is water. i'm gonna mix this up then we'll see the foam start to react. >> whoa, and there it goes. >> it's baking into a cake. >> so you can see all the gas bubbles already forming. >> we use this to kind of evaluate our formulation and how fast it comes up. >> why is it important that th