Mach Electric develops electrochemical reactor systems that convert captured CO₂ directly into high-performance carbon fiber, replacing petroleum-based precursors with a single-step, carbon-negative manufacturing process. The technology operates at 750°C in a molten carbonate bath, producing fiber with competitive mechanical properties for structural composites while cutting energy consumption by more than half compared to conventional methods.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Conventional carbon fiber manufacturing relies on expensive petroleum-derived polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursors and requires a multi-step, energy-intensive process involving oxidation and carbonization at up to 3000°C. This approach generates roughly 20 kg of CO₂ per kg of fiber, depends on geographically concentrated supply chains, and struggles to scale economically. Global demand is projected to exceed 150,000 tonnes by 2030, but current production capacity cannot keep pace.
Solution
Mach Electric replaces the traditional PAN-based production chain with a proprietary electrochemical reactor that dissolves captured CO₂ in a molten carbonate bath and applies an electrical current to split carbon-oxygen bonds. Carbon deposits as continuous fiber at the cathode, while oxygen is released as a valuable byproduct, enabling single-step conversion at lower temperatures and energy consumption below 100 MJ/kg. The process yields carbon-negative fiber with oriented crystallinity, delivering competitive mechanical properties for structural applications. This approach eliminates petroleum feedstock entirely and reduces process steps from five or more to one continuous operation, making economic scale-up feasible while supporting domestic manufacturing infrastructure.
Target Audience
Primary customers include automakers seeking lightweight structural body panels and battery enclosures, defense contractors with growing material requirements, and manufacturers of compression-molded composites serving renewable energy and industrial markets.
Features
- Proprietary molten carbonate electrolysis reactor operating at 750°C in a lithium-sodium carbonate eutectic melt
- Custom electrode geometry enabling continuous fiber nucleation and growth at industrial throughput rates
- Single-step conversion from CO₂ directly to carbon fiber, eliminating PAN synthesis, oxidation, and separate carbonization stages
- Carbon-negative production pathway that consumes captured CO₂ as feedstock while releasing oxygen as a byproduct
- Electrochemically deposited carbon with oriented crystallinity for competitive mechanical properties in structural composites
- Energy consumption under 100 MJ/kg, representing more than a 50% reduction versus conventional manufacturing