Carbontech Development Initiative (CDI)

To harvest reusable carbonation seeds by aqueous carbonation of brucite into magnesium carbonates

• Institution: Columbia University
• Team Lead: Jacob Fish, Professor and Chair of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics,

The primary objective of the project is to create diverse magnesium carbonate forms as carbonation seeds via aqueous carbonation and explore their seeding efficacy in varying binder systems like hydrated magnesium carbonates (HMC), magnesium silicate hydrates (MSH), and magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC). The significance of the project stems from using novel seed materials in magnesium carbonate production, which includes carbon mineralization, utilization, and storage, marking a promising transition from waste to resources. This initiative builds on creating low-carbon magnesium-based cement from waste such as desalination brine.

To make CCS efficient: novel adsorbent regeneration by targeted photodesorption

• Institution: Columbia University
• Team Lead: Prof. Arvind Narayanaswamy 

This team will improve the energy efficiency of CCS across a range of potential CCS applications, including cement production and ethanol production. Prof. Narayanaswamy will identify and test novel materials which reduce the amount of heat energy required to release CO2 from the substance to which it binds in the CCS process.

Waste-derived “Goldilocks” cement microstructures for co-enhancement of CO2 mineralization and composite strength

• Institution: Columbia University
• Team Lead: Shaina Kelly, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University

This project aims to sequester CO2 via mineralization in the built environment which will benefit New York State’s environmental and carbontech market development goals. The proposed “Goldilocks” cements project will identify the physical-chemical properties of waste-derived cement microstructures towards enhancing post-cure CO2 mineralization capacity while maintaining or enhancing concrete strength and durability. We will focus on varied fractions of WTE bottom and fly ash (combined ash). The co-PIs have found that WTE fly ash can be stabilized in cement-based systems, but that increasing cement replacement with WTE ash beyond 20% has led to decreases in compressive strength.

Active Learning Algorithms for Autonomous Operation of CO2 Electrolyzers at Optimal Conditions

• Institution: NYU
• Team Leads: Prof. Miguel Modestino

This team will develop and demonstrate a machine learning algorithm which can overcome challenges associated with CO2 conversion using electrolyzers. Electrolyzers are a low-carbon alternative to traditional methods of chemical production from CO2, but they are complex to operate. This algorithm will control and operate electrolyzers autonomously, optimizing conditions like temperature and pressure while adjusting to different CO2 feedstocks and changes in the device performance over time.

Cornell Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion (C5): New Chemical Pathways for Energy-Efficient Capture of CO2 from Air

• Institution: Cornell University
• Team Leads: Prof. Phillip Milner, Prof. Tristan Lambert and Prof. Brett Fors

This team will identify new DAC technologies which overcome some of the key limitations of traditional DAC technologies. They will explore and test the potential of four approaches which use novel materials or processes  to improve the rate and volume of CO2 capture and release, and to reduce the energy and costs associated with operating DAC systems.

Development of Efficient Dual Functional Materials for CO2 Capture and Conversion

• Institution: University of Rochester
• Team Leads: Prof. Marc Porosoff and Prof. Andrea Pickel

This team will tune the energy efficiency of dual functional materials (DFMs) by integrating CO2 capture and conversion with microthermometry. A key operating principle of DFMs is the exotherm of CO2 hydrogenation provides sufficient heat to drive endothermic CO2 desorption. The problem with this approach is that the temperature profile of the DFM is poorly characterized, wasting energy on heating the system’s surroundings. We will improve DFMs by understanding how to efficiently use the heat from exothermic CO2 hydrogenation to drive endothermic CO2 desorption, thereby lowering the energy requirements of converting CO2 into value-added products, e.g. aviation fuel.

Direct Air Capture and Conversion of CO2 using Moisture-Activated, Oxidatively Stable Porous Mixed-Metal Hydroxides

• Institution: University of Houston
• Team Lead: Praveen Bollini, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

The goal of this project is to demonstrate, for the first time, direct air capture (and conversion) under ambient conditions using high-performing solid sorbents that are purely inorganic in composition. The project will seek to demonstrate the synthesis, characterization, and temperature swing adsorption performance of highly porous mixed metal hydroxides on which carbonate species are stabilized through solvation by hydration layers that are formed under conditions typically encountered during DAC applications.

Green and Low-Cost Membrane Adsorbents for Direct Air Capture

• Institution: SUNY Buffalo
• Team Leads: Prof. Haiqing Lin and Prof. Shenqiang Ren

This team will develop a novel CO2 capture material which will lower the cost of DAC by maximizing the rate and volume of CO2 capture. This material will rely on structurally similar components, enabling its production process to be simple, low-cost, and scalable.

Integrating CO2 Mineralization and Mining for the Recovery of Construction Materials and Energy-Relevant Elements from Waste

• Institution: Clarkson University
• Team Leads: Prof. Simona Liguori and Prof. Valentina Priggiobe

This team will create an integrated process for mining energy-relevant elements (EREs) and CO2 mineralization for carbon storage.  Once extracted from mine tailings, elements will be separated through nanofiltration to recover EREs and calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). EREs can then be re-used in renewable energy systems while Ca and Mg will undergo reactions with CO2 to form carbonates that can be re-used in the construction of buildings and infrastructure.

To Produce an Electrochemically-driven CO2 Capture Device Using Nickel Hydroxide Batteries and a Flow-through Membrane

• Institution: University of Delaware
• Team Lead: James Buchen, PhD Candidate

This team is developing a Ni(OH)2 based electrochemical DAC device using a flow-through membrane. The flow-through design unlocks the ability to use traditional battery technologies with known supply chains while also eliminating energy inefficiencies associated with a traditional membrane design. The research will focus on characterizing the flow-through membranes and modeling their performance.

To Produce Carbon Negative Oxalic Acid from Carbon Dioxide, Water and Renewable Energy for Circular Economy Products and Durable Sequestration

• Company Name: Arrow Carbon
• Team Lead: Ben West, Founder & CEO

This team creates oxalic acid (OA) from carbon dioxide using renewable energy and water to enable circular economies and sequestration. Arrow Carbon designed a new process to make OA from CO2, moving away from petrochemical oxidation production with nitric acid utilized today. The process only requires electrical energy, enabling carbon negative production with renewable energy sources

Moisture-Swing Direct Air Capture of CO2 by Oxides

• Company: Arbon Corporation
• Team Lead: Xiaoyang Shi, Founder & CEO

Arbon has developed a new DAC technology that uses water rather than heat to regenerate their CO2 capture material, greatly reducing the energy and costs associated with DAC. Their research has demonstrated that this material does not easily degrade and can be re-used thousands of times. Arbon will pilot a DAC device that captures half a ton of CO2 per day, with the eventual aim of manufacturing and deploying millions of devices that each capture 1 ton per day, achieving gigaton-scale DAC.

Transforming CO2 Emissions into Building Materials

• Company: Carbix Corporation
• Team Lead: Johann "Quincy" Sammy, Founder & CEO

Carbix will pilot an industrial-scale reactor which rapidly transforms CO2 into building materials. Carbix’s prototype technology has successfully produced batch samples for concrete mixes, paints, and coatings. This pilot will be co-located with an industrial facility in New York State, recovering water along with 20% of the CO2 from that facility's flue gas. It will mineralize that CO2 to form carbonates, which are key inputs to cement and other construction materials. The success of this pilot could enable the decarbonization of energy- and emissions-intensive manufacturing industries such as steel and cement production in New York State.

Energy Critical Metal Recovery Integrated with Carbon Capture and Durable Storage for Sustainable Steel and Aluminum Manufacturing in NY State

• Company: Carbon To Stone
• Team Lead: Greeshma Gadikota, Founder and Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental

Carbon To Stone has developed a technology that reduces the CO2 emissions associated with steel and metals manufacturing by 8-10% while also producing critical metals which are necessary for the buildout of clean energy technologies. They will combine an energy- and material-efficient resource recovery technology which can process 10 kg of solid waste per day with an integrated CO2 capture and mineralization technology. They will pilot this approach in New York State while also investigating its scale-up potential.

Conversion of CO2 to Methanol in Wastewater Treatment Facilities

• Company: Hago Energetics
• Team Lead: Wilson Hago, Founder & CEO

Hago Energetics Benefit Corporation will build a field prototype of a system that converts CO2 to methanol on a dairy farm in New York. Unlike traditional methanol production from natural gas, this innovative process will produce net-negative CO2 emissions while also reducing the emissions produced from animal waste or biogas flaring at dairy facilities. A trailer-sized unit will capture the biogas produced by the farm and produce saleable methanol.

To Prototype an Intermittent, Swarm-Automated Off-Grid Power-to-Methanol Facility

• Company Name: Aircela
• Team Lead: Kristian Tuszynski, CTO

This team has developed a standalone, ultra-modular system capturing CO2 from environmental air and converting it into carbon-neutral e-fuels. Each system, when deployed, will capture 3 tons of CO2 per year and replace 400 gallons of fossil gasoline or 2 tons of fossil methanol. Their goal is to be capturing millions of tons per year and replacing millions of fossil gallons/tons by the end of this decade, selling fuel at fossil price parity. They want to build a digital and physical prototype of thousands of Aircela systems working together, modeled at the subcomponent scale, and powered intermittently.

Upgrading Biogas Emissions by Modular Pulsed Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

• Institution Name: Cornell University
• Team Lead: Tobias Hanrath, Professor of Engineering, Cornell University

This team aims to transition a novel CO2 electrolyzer technology from lab-to-market by demonstrating the operation of a prototype system to upgrade biogas generated by anaerobic digesters of dairy farms and landfills. The technological value proposition and core innovative claim derive from recent advances in pulse-modulated electrolysis to control and optimize the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to value-added products. This advance, coupled with inputs from an artificial neural network optimization algorithm, enables robust and extended electrolyzer operation and dynamic response to changes in the input gas composition. The electrolyzer technology at the heart of the proposed project can be integrated as a retrofit to existing anaerobic digesters (ADs) as well as direct integration with new systems to upgrade biogas to renewable natural gas (RNG).

To Develop a 100% Bio-Based Thermal Insulation Foam That Incorporates Biochar as a Carbon Sequestering Additive

• Company Name: ECHO Building Systems
• Team Lead: Erin Ruby, Founder & Principal, Interior & Product Design

This team innovates biochar-enhanced insulation materials that sequester carbon and reduce fossil fuel dependency. Their objective targets the built environment as a leading generator (40%) of global CO2 emissions. Of those total emissions, building operations account for 27% annually, while building materials and construction (embodied carbon) are responsible for an additional 13% annually. They are developing a 100% bio-based 1-to-1 replacement product for foam insulation. Their proprietary chemistry incorporates biochar into the most commonly used foams as a scalable and viable carbon-negative material enhancement.

To Incorporate CO2-to-Building Materials into Kits of Ready-to-Install Interiors, Further Reducing Embodied Carbon in Building Retrofits

• Company Name: Kit Switch
• Team Lead: Candice Delamarre, Co-Founder and COO

This team delivers kits from its library of ready-to-install apartment interior products for tenant improvements, retrofits, and conversions. They take the pain and complexity out of interior builds by (1) pulling from their library of interior modules to design faster and (2) leveraging local manufacturing partners to deliver plug-in kits. Manufactured locally, Kit Switch’s first product line, the Kit-Kitchen, is installed on-site in < 1 day, with improved turnaround, predictability, and sustainability.

Point Source Carbon Capture from Municipal Waste and Biomass Combustion

• Company Name: Mitico
• Team Lead: Clement Cid, CEO & Co-Founder

This team’s technology is based on multi-scale reversible pressure and temperature swing absorption using abundant, cost-effective, and low-impact granular metal carbonate (GMC) sorbent to capture >95% of CO2 in the flue gas from post-combustion point-source emitters. It is applicable across a range of point source emitters that combine water vapor and CO2 in their flue gas. These include waste-to-energy turbines, boilers, wood waste burners, cement, and steel production facilities.

To Generate Low Emissions Sorbent Material for Carbon Capture

• Company Name: Thalo Labs
• Team Lead: Brendan Hermalyn, CEO & Founder

This team is an NYC-based company with a revolutionary new way to measure, reduce, and capture greenhouse gases (“GHGs”) from the built environment. Thalo has developed high dynamic range, low power, modular, direct mineralization carbon capture systems that are already being deployed across the city. These capture devices include revolutionary measurement, verification, and reporting systems to enable best-in-class verifiability for highly scalable, carbon-negative capture.

Cost-Effective, Carbon-Negative Acrylonitrile: Leveraging Novel Catalysts to Minimize Feedstock Use

• Company Name: Mars Materials
• Team Lead: Aaron Fitzgerald, CEO & Founder

This team is a venture- and Breakthrough Energy-backed startup in Houston, TX commercializing a chemical process to sequester CO2 into acrylonitrile (AN), the sole feedstock for polymers and composites such as acrylamide (AMD) and carbon fiber (CF), respectively. The AMD and CF markets are supply-constrained and actively seeking decarbonized, drop-in alternatives to today’s volatile, petrochemical-derived AN supply. Mars’ carbon-negative AN is a drop-in replacement that can be supplied to these markets from local sites with reduced price volatility. At full scale, Mars envisions its carbon negative AN replacing fossil-derived AN, effectively converting this market into a viable carbon sink.