In our fight against climate change, the need for scalable and rapid solutions to remove gigatonnes of CO2 is more urgent than ever.
According to the 2023 IPCC report, Limiting human-caused global warming will require net zero CO2 emissions, and our actions toward doing that will largely determine whether warming can be limited to 1.5°C or 2°C.
The bright side? According to that same report, “deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions would lead to a discernible slowdown in global warming within around two decades.”
That's where MASH Makes steps in. Our platform is designed for top-notch efficiency in performance, labour, and financial structure, ensuring we can scale up quickly and effectively. From day one, we’ve focused on the bigger picture, ensuring our model has a global reach, is environmentally sustainable, can turn a profit, and benefits local communities.
Our approach is called Gigatonne Thinking, and scalability is at the heart of it. Gigatonne Thinking is about looking at carbon sequestration and environmental sustainability through a wider lens, beyond just conventional project planning. Our goal is clear: achieving global net-zero carbon emissions.
A scalable platform
The potential for biochar sequestration on a global scale is enormous. A recent report shows that some countries can sequester 20% of their annual carbon emissions through pyrolysis of crop residues. The total amount of CO2e that can be removed globally through pyrolysis of crop residues is 1.9 Pg CO2e year. Our technology aims to capitalise on the significant potential of converting crop residues into carbon sequestration assets and leverage this global biochar potential.
Our modular pyrolysis platform is uniquely positioned to transform these vast amounts of residues into biochar – and it’s designed to easily scale and deploy anywhere. The machine’s reactor is mounted in a 40-foot shipping container, creating large processing capacity in a compact and portable form factor.
Each site features multiple processing modules that can be scaled according to the biomass potential of the site and the proximity to biomass resources. This design means that each MASH Makes site can be set up or scaled up according to the biomass residue volume potential by increasing the number of reactors. Machine subsystems are all placed on skids for quick disassembly and maintenance.
Currently, we use our machines to produce biochar and biofuel. We are also working to produce electricity and hydrogen to be used in a similar scalable model.
Scalable commodities
The biochar and bio oil produced from our machines are scalable commodities, too. The biochar market in particular is rapidly evolving, with an ever-growing list of applications in agriculture, construction, metallurgy, and other industries.
We’re constantly exploring these applications and considering which will have the biggest impact on CO2 removals globally. So far, soil application and construction materials are our primary focuses for biochar.
In fact, our second-season trials on soybean crops in India showed that our biochar reduced drought-induced losses by over 60% and effectively doubled the crop yield – a result that has massive implications for farmers in drought prone areas. We look forward to sharing more on how biochar can change agriculture in arid and semi arid areas pending the results of multiple crop tests that are currently underway.
Our biofuel is also being optimised for use in shipping, can be blended with methanol (watch this space!), and is currently being used in boilers, thereby decarbonizing conventional combustion processes.
Scalable revenue streams
We incorporate scalability in our financial strategy, too, by selling biochar as a commodity and as resulting carbon removal credits, all while maximising energy use. We have also been building our customer base for bio oil, and are engaging with agriculture and construction partners to explore the potential of biochar off-take at scale.
Carbon removal credits, also known as carbon offsets, are measurable and verifiable emission reductions from climate action projects. MASH Makes carbon credits are sold on the most advanced carbon marketplaces, including Supercritical, Carbonfuture, and Puro, where customers can purchase credits in various sizes and payment plans.
We also have a scalable business model. Our platform is rolled out through a series of unique legal entities known as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs). Each SPV is licensed to use MASH Makes technology and is tailored to the local supply chain of available biomass and energy needs. Because we strategically optimise our outputs, we create an attractive return profile for asset investors, making MASH appealing to capital providers and facilitating our scalability. This SPV model will be akin to a franchise concept, where MASH Makes will provide all technology, inputs, outputs, management and operations. The returns are divided between MASH Makes and investors.
Think Big. Think Gigatonne.
At MASH Makes, we're redefining carbon removal thinking at scale with our Gigatonne Thinking approach – and scalability is just one part of it.
Our holistic perspective encompasses 7 Pillars of Gigatonne Thinking. Each pillar -- Scalability, Replicability, Global Perspective, Commoditisation, Quantification, Virality, and Waste-not – plays a critical role in our mission to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
Dive deeper into our vision on our Gigatonne Thinking page, and join the conversation on LinkedIn.