MCi Carbon (“MCi”) announced today a three-way memorandum of understanding with cornerstone investor ITOCHU Corporation and the Japanese global construction
firm Taisei Corporation. This collaboration builds upon the strong and established relationship between MCi and ITOCHU, leveraging the strengths of
the three companies to build a zero-carbon society.
MCi technology removes CO2 emissions fromindustry by transforming them into building materials and other valuable resources. ITOCHU and MCi signed a memorandum of understanding in May 2021, giving ITOCHU rights to identify and develop market applications for the carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technology with Japanese groups.
“Together, Japan and Australia are building on asignificant relationship between our societies and our economies”, says MCi Chief Executive Officer Marcus Dawe. “This collaboration with Taisei will bring our advanced technology to Japan as an early adopter to accelerate decarbonisation for the prosperity of the Japanese people, assisting them to reach their enshrined legislative targets.”
ITOCHU is investigating various applications of the technology and use cases for MCi’s
output materials, called ‘carbonates’, acting as facilitator for the procurement of these new carbon embodied materials, the coordination of constructing decarbonisation plants and the commercialisation of MCi technology in Japan. These decarbonisation plants are expected to produce several hundred thousand tonnes of material in Japan by FY2027. The new partnership with TAISEI Corporation will assess and validate using carbonates in concrete and construction products.
“Creating new carbon embodied construction materials fromCO2 emissions is a significant example of how technology can beadopted to achieve a zero emissions pathway for Japan and other countries”, says MCi Carbon CEO Marcus Dawe. “We are excited by our progress with industrial partners ITOCHU and Taisei and expect this will be a fruitful collaboration.”
MCi’s technology presents a safe and profitable means ofstoring CO2 permanently. The chemical process, called mineralcarbonation, creates a range of low carbon embodied materials, including calcium and magnesium carbonate by carbonating minerals in by-products of industrial processes, like steelmaking slag, mine tailings and other industrial waste materials.
As part of the Australian Federal Government’s CCUS fund, MCi was awarded a $14.6 million grant last year to assist inthe construction of a demonstration plant on Kooragang Island in Newcastle. MCi was also awarded #1 Global Cleantech Pitch at COP26 in Glasgow. Now afterfifteen years of research and development MCi is now ready to commercialise and scale-up their decarbonisation plants globally.
About MCi Carbon
MCiCarbon (MCi) is a world-leading Australian clean technology company that
transforms carbon dioxide into building materials and other valuable industrial
products and recently won COP26’s The Clean Energy Start-up Pitch Battle. MCi
is based in Canberra, with an industrial headquarters in Newcastle and a global
reference pilot plant at the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources
(NIER).
Foundedin 2013, the company operates a low-cost, low-pressure, low-energy chemical
engineering process to transform CO2 emissions from industrialsources into solid materials which can create a range of products. Its mission is to contribute to the industrial pathway to zero emissions by removing 1
billion tonnes of CO2.
MCi has received global recognition for its R&D, including the 2018 Resource
Innovator of the Year award at the New Materials Summit in Berlin and being
featured at the World Economic Forum Pioneers of Change Summit.
About ITOCHU Corporation
The history of ITOCHU Corporation dates to 1858 when the Company's founder Chubei
Itoh commenced linen trading operations. Since then, ITOCHU has evolved and
grown over 160 years.
With approximately 100 bases in 62 countries, ITOCHU, one of the leading sogo
shosha, is engaging in domestic trading, import/export, and overseas trading of
various products such as textile, machinery, metals, minerals, energy, chemicals, food, general products, realty, information and communications technology, and finance, as well as business investment in Japan and overseas.
ITOCHU has a corporate philosophy called ‘Sampo-yoshi’ which focuses on bringing ‘good for the seller, good for the buyer and good for society’. This original business spirit has been passed down through the years from ITOCHU’s establishment in 1858 to the present day, and it will continue to be passed down across many future generations to come.
About Taisei Corporation
Taisei Corporation was founded in 1873 and now operates across 12 international offices, 46 domestic offices and over 70 consolidated and affiliated subsidiaries. Taisei has delivered a range of construction and civil engineering projects in the midst of significant social changes, such as Japan's modernization, post-war reconstruction, economic growth, and globalization.
Taisei Corporation has been developing their original concrete technology, T-eConcrete® series. One of them, "T-eConcrete/Carbon-Recycle" is the newest
technology, which fixates CO2 inside concrete by mixing carbonateswith other constituent materials. This greatly contributes to reduce CO2emissions from concrete production, which is a major construction material. Taisei’s philosophy is "to create a vibrant environment for all members of society" and operate in an environmentally sustainable manner to create a global community that is full of dreams and hopes for future generations.
For more information
Contact: Ezra Swadling, MCi Carbon (MCi)
Email: comms@mineralcarbonation.com
Phone: +61 490 118 576