A new startup has come up with ways to reduce carbon emissions while also producing other critical materials. The startup called Travertine Technologies, Inc came out of research from the University of California, Berkeley, and uses a novel technology that mineralizes CO2 from air while also producing other elements as by-products.
Travertine Technologies also announced it just closed a $3 million seed funding round jointly led by Grantham Environmental Trust and Clean Energy Ventures. It would enable the company to scale up its team in Colorado and pilot-scale technology implementation in 2023.
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Travertine’s process works by capturing CO2 from the air, sequestering it permanently in solid form and simultaneously producing sulphuric acid, green hydrogen, and oxygen as a by-product.
It is electrochemical and accelerates a natural Earth cycle that absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere and transforms it into carbonate minerals. Additionally, Travertine’s technology co-produces sulphuric acid used for extracting raw materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt.
Around 300 million tons of sulphuric acid are used annually in extractive industries like mining and fertilizer production, with demand set to grow with the surging need for critical elements.
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Normally sulphuric acid is produced industrially in plants. There are also tons of sulphate waste from the typical production process that are capable of contaminating water and turn into liabilities for companies.
According to Travertine Founder and CEO, Laura Lammers, the startup is currently engaging with companies looking to expand or bring online new production of minerals like lithium. She also explained the company is looking towards addressing the needs of the industry and the environmental balance.
