Helix Carbon
Transforming carbon dioxide to value for the chemicals industry
Introduction
Helix Carbon revolutionizes CO2 utilization by transforming captured CO2 into carbon-neutral fuels and chemicals. Born from MIT innovations, we combine dramatically improved catalysts with cheaper materials to create CO2-based fuels & feedstocks that are cost-competitive in fossil-reliant markets.
Problem
To effectively combat climate change, we need to replace fossil fuels both in our energy economy and as a carbon feedstock to the world's chemicals industry. In addition, we need a scalable approach to capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide to achieve net zero. Today, most captured carbon is either sequestered underground at high cost or, more often, used to pump more fossil fuels. In contrast, CO2 could be a valuable source of carbon to replace fossil-based feedstocks, but the high energy barriers associated with converting it into valuable chemicals makes this inviable. As a result, today’s carbon capture approaches are unscalable business models that don't solve the core climate challenge.
Opportunity
Helix Carbon's breakthrough catalyst technology, developed in an MIT lab, drastically lowers the energy required to convert carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals, making possible carbon dioxide-based fuels and feedstocks that are not only carbon neutral, but price competitive in fossil-based markets. Helix Carbon couples cheaper, non-precious metal catalysts with dramatic improvements in energy efficiency and system longevity to bring the levelized cost of CO2-based fuels in line with fossil-based sources. This advancement transforms captured CO2 from a waste product into a valuable chemical resource. Our technology, combined with a proprietary electrolyzer design, will close the carbon loop at large scale industrial emitters by capturing and converting their CO2 emissions into input chemicals. With an initial product focusing on green syngas production, Helix Carbon is targeting customers in the methanol production industry before branching out into other high emissions sectors.