Utilizing Carbon in Everyday Products w/ Aaron Fitzgerald of Mars Materials

Welcome back to another episode of the CleanTechies Podcast. This is episode 74 of the show and we are thrilled to have you joining us. 

If you're a ClimateTech Founder seeking introductions to capital or potential partnerships or are interested in sponsoring the show, please reach out: silasmahner@gmail.com

Today we are joined by Aaron Fitzgerald the CEO and Co-Founder of Mars Materials. At Mars Materials they are creating a clean acrylonitrile (ACN) alternative that is used in materials that every person on the planet (nearly all) uses every year. Uses include carpet, carbon fiber products, waste treatment, and keyboards among other things. 

Conventionally, acrylonitrile is made from fossil fuels and their tech replaces the feedstock with other materials making it a much cleaner material. Their tech came out of NREL and is a way of sequestering carbon into these everyday materials helping reduce their carbon impacts of them. 

In addition to this being a conversation about incredible technology, Aaron's story is also very compelling so I'm glad to be able to share this discussion for that as well. Hopefully, it will inspire many. 

Without any further delay, please enjoy this conversation with Aaron Fitzgerald. 

Topics:

• 9:31 - Types of Carbon Capture
• 11:20 - The argument against Carbon Capture
• 13:35 - What Mars does and who they sell to 
• 25:08 - How they started the company out of NREL and that process for others interested
• 34:30 - The fundraising process and journey
• 47:40 - How he goes about educating himself
• 51:33 - How others can get into this space 
• 54:43 - Future of carbon space

We hope you enjoy today's episode - please reach out with any specific questions or discussion points. If you're interested in being a show sponsor you can reach me at silasmahner@gmail.com

LINKS:

• Mars Materials Website
• Aaron on LinkedIn
• Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners
• Join the Slack Channel
• Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
• HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner

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We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learn more about how we might partner with you today. https://www.next-wavepartners.com/ / info@next-wavepartners.com

Chapters

• 9:31 Types of Carbon Capture
• 11:20 The argument against Carbon Capture
• 13:35 What Mars does and who they sell to
• 25:08 How they started the company out of NREL & that process for others interested
• 34:30 The fundraising process and journey
• 47:40 How he goes about educating himself
• 51:33 How others can get into this space
• 54:43 Future of carbon space