Atlas Materials
Bigger Picture
Finding scalable ways to permanently remove carbon cost-effectively and without large energy costs is difficult. Supercharging the natural carbon cycle through enhanced rock weathering is attractive for its simple chemistry, the use of abundant rocks and permanent carbon removal. Many strategies are emerging seeking to explore its full potential.
Read more about enhanced weathering ➜
The Problem
Much of the technology we need to decarbonise our society (batteries, construction materials) relies on materials that are themselves CO2 intensive. Nickel, Lithium and Cobalt for batteries require mining operations, construction of clean infrastructure requires carbon-intensive cement, and so on. The result is that the energy transition starts in climate debt.
Enhanced weathering offers a seemingly simple CDR solution. However the low CO2 uptake rate of rocks (less than 1 tonne CO2 per tonne of rock) means that very large quantities of minerals must be extracted and moved around to achieve meaningful levels of CDR. The financial costs and CO2 impacts accumulating across the supply chain from mining, grinding, transporting and deploying rocks can make for challenging unit economics.
Why Atlas Materials?
A new profitable route to carbon removal
Atlas materials has designed a multi-step enhanced weathering process that separates high-value materials from mafic rocks. By manufacturing materials that are both in high demand and valuable to the energy transition, Atlas materials has paved a route to near-term profitability along with a reduced-risk path to larger operations and economies of scale in enhanced weathering.
Decarbonising the building blocks for a sustainable future
Nickel is a key ingredient in modern batteries but 25t CO2 are released for every ton mined. Atlas materials’ carbon-negative Nickel will help decarbonise supply chains for the energy transition. Meanwhile Atlas Cementitious Silica paves the way to significant reductions in the carbon intensity of concrete.
Commodity materials for carbon removal
Using abundant materials and renewable energy, Atlas are making Mg(OH)2, a CO2 sorbent enabling large scale CO2 removal through Direct Air Capture or reducing industrial emissions via Point Source Capture in manufacturing or renewable energy.
Visionary team
Combining entrepreneurial and technical savvy, the team at Atlas have their minds set on gigatonnes of permanent CDR and are pushing the boundaries of innovation to get there.
