Metalplant uses a patented process that combines enhanced rock weathering with nickel‑hyperaccumulating plants to produce battery‑grade nickel while permanently sequestering CO₂ as oceanic alkalinity. The system generates carbon‑negative nickel and can be sold as separate nickel product and carbon removal credits (NegativeNickel™) to battery manufacturers and entities seeking verified climate offsets.
Funding
$3.7M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Traditional nickel mining relies on energy‑intensive extraction and processing, generating significant CO₂ emissions while providing limited carbon removal benefits. Simultaneously, achieving gigatonne‑scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) remains a major challenge due to high costs and limited scalable solutions.
Solution
Metalplant combines two nature‑based approaches—enhanced rock weathering (ERW) and nickel phytomining—to create a single industrial process that produces battery‑grade nickel while permanently sequestering CO₂. Crushed magnesium silicate rocks are spread on fields powered by hydroelectric energy, where they chemically weather, releasing magnesium ions and binding atmospheric CO₂ into stable bicarbonate that eventually reaches the ocean as alkalinity. Hyperaccumulator plants grown on these rocks absorb trace nickel from the soil into their biomass; the harvested plants are then processed to extract nickel for clean‑energy applications. The integrated system generates carbon‑negative nickel and can be quantified as separate or combined “NegativeNickel™” credits, providing both a critical mineral supply and verifiable CDR at scale.
Target Audience
Primary customers are battery manufacturers and other users of high‑purity nickel, as well as corporations and governments seeking verified carbon removal credits for climate‑offset portfolios.
Features
- Hydro‑powered rock crushing and distribution of magnesium silicate to accelerate natural weathering reactions
- Deployment of nickel‑hyperaccumulator plant species that concentrate nickel in harvestable biomass
- On‑site biomass harvesting and processing pipeline delivering battery‑grade nickel sulfate
- Carbon capture pathway where weathering‑derived bicarbonate and magnesium are exported to the ocean for long‑term alkalinity storage
- Patent‑pending “Hyperweathering” process that couples ERW and phytomining in a single field operation
- Partnerships with leading academic institutions (University of Sheffield, Rothamsted Research) to validate weathering rates and CDR accounting
- Ability to issue separate nickel product sales and carbon removal credits (NegativeNickel™) to customers