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: [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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 __________ 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/ / [email protected] Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe