Mars Materials

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

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.

Focus Area(s): Carbon Sequestration, Manufacturing

Funding Cycle: 2023-2024