MCi Carbon unveils scale-up breakthrough at COP30
MCi Carbon returns to the world’s most watched climate summit to invite industry partners to run industrial trials using its CO2-to-materials technology named 'MYRTLE'
At COP30, Australian clean tech company MCi Carbon announced that “Myrtle,” its mineral carbonation demonstration plant in Newcastle, Australia, is now open for business. Building on strong praise at COP26 in Glasgow, MCi Carbon returns to the world’s most watched climate summit to invite industry partners to run industrial trials using its CO2-to-materials technology.
Myrtle transforms captured CO2 and mineral feedstocks into saleable materials, using mineral carbonation to react CO2with industrial residues such as steel slag, mine tailings or ultramafic rocks. The reaction forms stable carbonates that lock in CO2 and replace high emissions inputs in common products including concrete, plasterboard, paints and paper. Unlike underground storage, MCi Carbon’s product first model creates value, helping projects progress without relying solely on a carbon price or offsets.
By the end of COP30, Myrtle will be ready to run 24/7 campaigns with partners across steel, cement and other hard-to-abate sectors. At full capacity, the plant can mineralise ~2,500 tonnes of CO2 per year into ~10,000 tonnes of materials, generating field data for customer trials and industry standards. This milestone builds on MCi Carbon’s Research Pilot Plant in Newcastle (operating since 2016), which screens feedstocks, simulates flue gases and delivers rapid techno-economic checks.
“At Myrtle, customers can see the process, run a campaign, and use the results to decide on a scalable project,” said Sophia Hamblin Wang, MCi Carbon Co-Founder and COO, speaking at the Australia Pavilion at COP30.
Hamblin Wang arrived at the summit with a suitcase of concrete samples produced using Myrtle’s carbon-embodied materials, showcasing results from recent Brazilian and Japanese customer trials that highlight strong performance and growing market interest.
The market opportunity for low-embodied-carbon building materials is accelerating as governments adopt ‘Buy Clean’ policies and major infrastructure owners introduce sustainability requirements for concrete and cement. Low-carbon construction materials have a total addressable market worth trillions of dollars and could lock away gigatonnes of CO2 each year at scale, potentially creating negative emissions products. With Myrtle providing industrial-scale validation, MCi Carbon helps customers convert decarbonisation goals into bankable projects.
MCi Carbon’s commercial pathway is already advancing. In February 2025, Mitsubishi UBE Cement Corporation (MUCC) invested US$5 million and signed a collaboration agreement as part of a funding round exceeding US$20 million, valuing MCi Carbon at over US$200 million; MUCC joins MCi’s other Japanese partners ITOCHU Corporation, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. In Europe, MCi Carbon’s first commercial blueprint with RHI Magnesita in Austria is planned at ~50,000 t CO2 per year, intended as a template for larger deployments worldwide.
“This breakthrough shortens validation cycles and improves bankability for first-of-a-kind plants.” Says MCi Carbon Founder and CEO Marcus Dawe, who is also at COP30. “Myrtle demonstrates an export-ready Australian technology that delivers emissions reductions in infrastructure while enabling global partners to move faster.”
Source: MCi Carbon, press release, 2025-11-15.
At COP30, Australian clean tech company MCi Carbon announced that “Myrtle,” its mineral carbonation demonstration plant in Newcastle, Australia, is now open for business. Building on strong praise at COP26 in Glasgow, MCi Carbon returns to the world’s most watched climate summit to invite industry partners to run industrial trials using its CO2-to-materials technology.
Myrtle transforms captured CO2 and mineral feedstocks into saleable materials, using mineral carbonation to react CO2with industrial residues such as steel slag, mine tailings or ultramafic rocks. The reaction forms stable carbonates that lock in CO2 and replace high emissions inputs in common products including concrete, plasterboard, paints and paper. Unlike underground storage, MCi Carbon’s product first model creates value, helping projects progress without relying solely on a carbon price or offsets.
By the end of COP30, Myrtle will be ready to run 24/7 campaigns with partners across steel, cement and other hard-to-abate sectors. At full capacity, the plant can mineralise ~2,500 tonnes of CO2 per year into ~10,000 tonnes of materials, generating field data for customer trials and industry standards. This milestone builds on MCi Carbon’s Research Pilot Plant in Newcastle (operating since 2016), which screens feedstocks, simulates flue gases and delivers rapid techno-economic checks.
“At Myrtle, customers can see the process, run a campaign, and use the results to decide on a scalable project,” said Sophia Hamblin Wang, MCi Carbon Co-Founder and COO, speaking at the Australia Pavilion at COP30.
Hamblin Wang arrived at the summit with a suitcase of concrete samples produced using Myrtle’s carbon-embodied materials, showcasing results from recent Brazilian and Japanese customer trials that highlight strong performance and growing market interest.
The market opportunity for low-embodied-carbon building materials is accelerating as governments adopt ‘Buy Clean’ policies and major infrastructure owners introduce sustainability requirements for concrete and cement. Low-carbon construction materials have a total addressable market worth trillions of dollars and could lock away gigatonnes of CO2 each year at scale, potentially creating negative emissions products. With Myrtle providing industrial-scale validation, MCi Carbon helps customers convert decarbonisation goals into bankable projects.
MCi Carbon’s commercial pathway is already advancing. In February 2025, Mitsubishi UBE Cement Corporation (MUCC) invested US$5 million and signed a collaboration agreement as part of a funding round exceeding US$20 million, valuing MCi Carbon at over US$200 million; MUCC joins MCi’s other Japanese partners ITOCHU Corporation, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. In Europe, MCi Carbon’s first commercial blueprint with RHI Magnesita in Austria is planned at ~50,000 t CO2 per year, intended as a template for larger deployments worldwide.
“This breakthrough shortens validation cycles and improves bankability for first-of-a-kind plants.” Says MCi Carbon Founder and CEO Marcus Dawe, who is also at COP30. “Myrtle demonstrates an export-ready Australian technology that delivers emissions reductions in infrastructure while enabling global partners to move faster.”
Source: MCi Carbon, press release, 2025-11-15.