Aspiring Materials
Aspiring Materials is removing carbon in two ways: sequestering it and by displacing carbon-intensive materials
When carbon dioxide reacts with Aspiring Materials' magnesium hydroxide, a chemical bond is created that ensures the carbon is locked away. CO2 becomes a solid material that can be utilized to further displace materials that are traditionally carbon-intensive to make.
Special thank you to Dr. Chris Oze, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Aspiring Materials and Dr. Megan Danczyk, Lead Chemical Processing Engineer at Aspiring Materials for completing this interview. Dr. Chris Oze makes the connections between geology and chemical processes from start to finish, or in Aspiring Materials case, from rock to rock. Dr. Megan Danczyk leads the development of the front-end process, driving innovation and continuous improvement efforts.
Check out the Aspiring Materials Capturing Change video HERE.
NCEC Interview Questions
1. How does Aspiring Materials contribute to removing carbon from the atmosphere?
Aspiring Materials is removing carbon in two ways: sequestering it using our carbon mineralization technology and preventing it, by displacing carbon-intensive materials used in industries around the world every day.
We produce critical minerals and materials essential for industrial manufacturing and services: magnesium, nickel:cobalt:manganese hydroxide and reactive silica.
These minerals and materials are used every day throughout the world by core industries like water treatment, cement, metals and fertilizer manufacturing and even energy infrastructure. The problem is, the traditional production processes for these minerals and materials require a lot of heat and energy, which produces a lot of carbon dioxide emissions, not to mention harmful waste.
What is so unique about the minerals and materials we produce is they all come from one abundant and carbon-free rock – olivine-rich ultramafic. This rock type is found throughout the world and is currently viewed as a low-value material, often removed in mining operations to get to other resources further below.
The Aspiring Materials process extracts magnesium hydroxide, silica, nickel:cobalt:manganese hydroxide from ultramafic rock, leaving nothing but a salty solution at the end, which we regenerate into acids and bases using electrolysis.
That electrolysis also generates hydrogen, a clean sustainable energy component.
The process produces no carbon emissions, no harmful waste - just high purity products that are drop-in replacements to their traditional counterparts.
For example, our reactive silica is a supplementary cementitious material (SCM), used to displace carbon-intensive Portland Cement.
Specifically, the magnesium hydroxide we produce can be used to capture and mineralise CO2 either from industrial flue stacks or directly from the air. Upon contact with the magnesium hydroxide, carbon dioxide is mineralised and locked away as a stable carbonate – magnesium carbonate. This material has a range of industrial applications from cement manufacturing to construction materials, fire retardants to paint.
We recently ran an industrial demonstration of our patented carbon capture technology at a local manufacturing site. This illustrated both our engineering tech and our magnesium hydroxide as a viable CO2 mineralising agent.
We’ve also just opened our mineral processing pilot plant in Christchurch, New Zealand and we’re batch producing the minerals and materials as expected. Our next phase is to scale the pilot up to a continuous production plant before building our first commercial plant.
2. What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced in carbon removal?
The challenges in carbon removal come from (the lack of) market forces, in particular carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). We’ve successfully proven our CCUS technology works, it’s scalable and there is market for the carbonate material produced but without policy and regulation to make the cost of sequestering carbon cheaper than emitting it, there is no drive from industry to change.
At an operational level, a challenge is access to plentiful renewable energy that enables Aspiring Materials to run as a carbon negative operation. Right now, we can do that in New Zealand and as we scale commercially access to renewables will be an important part of our location strategy.
Who are the key stakeholders in the carbon removal space?
Carbon removal is about course-correcting climate change, so the stakeholders are truly everyone!
But our products are targeted at industrial users who produce materials and manage services that underpin the built environment – wastewater treatment, cement making, metals manufacturing, agricultural supplements and energy infrastructure.
Specifically, magnesium hydroxide has dual benefits for industrial users. For example, in wastewater treatment, magnesium hydroxide can be used for alkalinity control and treatment processes but also be used to capture and mineralise CO2 emissions onsite.
Beyond users of our products are the communities where our process can be implemented. Currently, the production of magnesium hydroxide, silica and nickel:cobalt:manganese hydroxides are monopolised by just a handful of countries, limiting access and competitiveness.
The Aspiring Materials process can bring critical mineral and essential material production to communities all over the world, providing a source of safe and ethical employment opportunities under a clean, waste-free production model.
Our localized model can kick-start domestic manufacturing that is 21st Century ready, bypassing the extractive emissions laden production methods.
How is this a viable financial model?
The beauty of Aspiring Materials is that we’re producing critical minerals and essential materials that have ready markets and are in high demand across the world. These are building blocks of the new economy, but access and control is limited to a few nations.
Producing these products for ready markets means we are financially viable and making a difference for climate from the beginning.
What happens to the carbon when removed?
When carbon dioxide reacts with our magnesium hydroxide, a chemical bond is created that ensures the carbon is locked away. CO2 becomes a solid material that can be utilized to further displace materials that are traditionally carbon-intensive to make.
Is there a market for it?
Yes, there are several!
Magnesium carbonate can be used as a material input to other production processes – fertilizer production, plasterboards or even as an additional SCM for cement manufacturing.
How are you measuring carbon removal?
How is it verified?
For our carbon capture technology, we can verify the quantity of carbon dioxide captured by weighing the resulting dry carbonate and undergoing a chemical analysis process with an independent third-party analysis lab.
How do groups like the New Carbon Economy Consortium allow you to further your progress?
Carbon removal is a new frontier which requires education to increase public understanding and evidence-based assessment to support industry decision making. Groups like the New Carbon Economy Consortium help to facilitate that broader societal discussion that paves the way for companies like Aspiring Materials to scale and thrive.
How do you work with local communities?
Engagement and collaboration with communities is incredibly important to us.
Aspiring Materials spun out of the University of Canterbury and over the years we have run internship programmes with the engineering department to encourage cross-pollination of fresh thinking and real-world learning opportunities.
Alongside supporting the next generation of cleantech engineers, we are actively engaging with iwi (local tribal groups) in New Zealand. Achieving equitable outcomes for all, with focus on indigenous groups, is core to the purpose of Aspiring Materials
