Woody waste from forestry, agriculture, and other activities can create a disposal challenge when it is burned, landfilled, or left to decompose. Field burning can release carbon and affect local air quality, while unmanaged forest waste can add fuel to wildfires. At the same time, biomass contains carbon absorbed from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, creating an opportunity to use waste material in processes that retain that carbon rather than releasing it.

Mote is a carbon removal and biohydrogen company that converts woody waste biomass into pure biohydrogen and permanently storable CO₂ using a proprietary process based on research from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Mote uses proven components to capture carbon from waste biomass while producing hydrogen for energy applications.

Converting Woody Waste into Hydrogen

Mote’s process begins with woody waste biomass that has absorbed carbon through photosynthesis. Chipped biomass can be processed at a Mote facility, where it reacts with pure oxygen in an exothermic process reaching approximately 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The resulting gas mixture then moves through further processing stages.

The gas mixture is separated and purified to produce pure biohydrogen and permanently storable CO₂. Ash remains after the process and can be sold to fertilizer companies, giving the system another commercial output. The process is designed around woody waste that might otherwise be burned, landfilled, or left as unmanaged material.

Carbon Removal from Biomass

Mote’s system is designed to capture virtually all of the carbon contained in its waste biomass feedstock. Rather than releasing that carbon through combustion or decomposition, the process separates carbon from the hydrogen and produces CO₂ intended for permanent storage. The same biomass feedstock can therefore yield both an energy product and a carbon removal product.

The technology can also address emissions associated with field burning and landfilling. Mote identifies forestry management and agricultural waste management among its applications, while its biohydrogen can be used with fuel cells, heavy-duty trucks, equipment and zero-emissions hydrogen fueling systems. Replacing diesel with biohydrogen in suitable applications can reduce emissions from conventional heavy-duty fuel use.

Patented Process Technology

Mote’s technology uses proven components within a proprietary design covered by international patents. The company says its patented improvements increase efficiency, including a 10% increase in hydrogen production and a 9% improvement in throughput. Process integrations are also designed to cut carbon losses by half.

Mote’s technology and plant economics have been validated or funded by industry leaders. The company also states that its system can require less capital and substantially less land, water, and electricity than some other pathways for producing low-carbon energy and removing CO₂, including water electrolysis and direct air capture.

Applications for Domestic Energy

Mote’s technology can be used in forestry management, agricultural waste management, off-grid energy systems using fuel cells, and zero-emissions hydrogen fueling applications. These uses give forestry and agricultural operations a route for processing suitable waste biomass while producing hydrogen and separating carbon for permanent storage.

The resulting biohydrogen can serve as an energy source while the separated CO₂ is designated for permanent storage. Mote’s system therefore produces two primary outputs from woody waste biomass: hydrogen for energy applications and CO₂ for carbon removal. The company’s work centers on using waste biomass as a feedstock for domestic energy production and carbon removal.

ABOUT | JOSHUAH STOLAROFF

Joshuah Stolaroff, co-founder, is the CEO of Mote, a carbon removal and biohydrogen company focused on converting woody waste biomass into hydrogen and permanently storable CO₂. Before joining Mote, he spent more than a decade at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he served as a staff scientist and Carbon Capture Technology Manager. He co-authored Getting to Neutral: Options for Negative Carbon Emissions in California, the Lawrence Livermore report that examined biomass-based carbon removal among other pathways.

Stolaroff previously held an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University’s Climate Decision Making Center. He earned a Ph.D. in Engineering & Public Policy and Civil & Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering Science from the University of California, Berkeley. His doctoral research examined the feasibility of direct air capture and formed the groundwork for Carbon Engineering.