Mars Materials, Inc., a public benefit corporation working to store captured carbon dioxide into everyday products, announced a major manufacturing breakthrough. Working with textile experts at The Textile Innovation Engine of North Carolina and North Carolina State University (NC State), Mars Materials has successfully turned its CO2-derived product into a high-quality raw material for making carbon fiber.
The joint study proved that Mars Materials' carbon negative product works exactly like the traditional chemical today made from oil and coal. In its very first test, the product met the strict standards needed for high-performance carbon fiber: the kind used in airplanes, transmission lines and cars.
This newly announced breakthrough marks a potentially disruptive moment for the advanced composites industry. By converting captured carbon dioxide into a viable carbon fiber precursor, the development directly targets one of the most critical inputs in high-performance composite structures.
"This result keeps a promise we made to our investors and the industry," said Aaron Fitzgerald, CEO and Co-Founder of Mars Materials. "We proved we can make carbon fiber from the air without losing any quality. We can now focus on scaling up production to accelerate bringing manufacturing of this critical material back to the U.S."
The testing was done by Dr. Januka Budhathoki-Uprety and her research team at the NC State Wilson College of Textiles. Researchers took Mars Materials' product, called Hoigen-C, and turned it into polyacrylonitrile (PAN), the sole ingredient for carbon fiber. They tested it and found it was chemically identical to the version made from oil and coal.
"The chemical structure and molecular weight are similar to commercial PAN," said Dr. Ericka Ford, Associate Professor at NC State. "It is definitely a drop-in because you can add in any co-monomer that you want. For carbon fiber manufacturers looking to reduce their carbon footprint, this validates a viable pathway."
This validation opens a critical domestic supply line for major carbon fiber buyers like the United States military. Mars Materials' way to PAN uses captured CO2, is hydrogen cyanide free and ensures a secure North American supply chain.
Source: Mars Materials
