What is CarbonBridge?

CarbonBridge is a Santa Cruz Accelerates startup that is focused on taking methane and carbon-dioxide (CH4, CO2) from biowaste and converting these gases into methanol (CH3OH) using biocatalysis. The startup’s primary target is the marine market, where they will be competing on carbon intensity, delivery terms, and other metrics within the renewable methanol space.

What makes CarbonBridge different?

Unlike other methanol makers—fossil or renewable—CarbonBridge completely bypasses the classic high temperature ( ~ 850 deg C) and pressure ( ~ 1100 PSI) of the Fischer Tropsch reaction which is the mainstream method of forming a variety of hydrocarbons and alcohols including methanol.

In contrast, CarbonBridge’s working pressure of 10 PSI is too low, even for some quarterbacks, and their max temperature of 70 deg C ( ~ 160 F) is so low, you can't make proper chaya ("chai").

The company aims to have a competitively low price and with the lowest carbon intensity possible.

Why it matters

The marine industry uses up about 3% of the world's energy - but generates over 13% of the world’s greenhouse gases - basically pollution. This is due to large ships burning bunker oil to power their engines. Bunker oil is the residual sludge after crude oil processing. It is so thick that ships need a pre-heater to make it flow.  Forward-looking operators like Maersk, Mitsui, and CMA are moving to make changes, even ahead of regulation. And they are picking methanol as their fuel of choice. However, the carbon intensity has to continue to come down, along with the price.

This is where CarbonBridge comes in. Once CarbonBridge moves into production, its methanol will be among the lowest carbon-intensity fuels available and their proprietary process enables them to maintain the lowest production costs possible.

Next Steps

CarbonBridge conducted tests with the help of a CUNY researcher to prove methanol production at ambient using methane and microbes. Carbon Bridge’s next goals are to: 1) Improve microbe performance, 2) Extract methanol from low concentration, 3) Complete a 3rd party Life Cycle Analysis, 4) Kick off their next fundraising round. If you are interested in learning more, reach out to info@carbonbridge.io