Podcast: Investor pathway to decarbonise

❓ Question:

Can captured carbon dioxide be transformed into valuable commercial products, and could this help heavy industries such as cement, steel and mining accelerate their path to net zero while creating new business opportunities?

✅ Answer:

According to Sophia Hamblin Wang, co-founder and chief operating officer of MCi Carbon, carbon dioxide should no longer be viewed as a waste product. Instead, it can become a feedstock for new industrial materials, creating a commercial incentive for companies to capture emissions rather than release them into the atmosphere.

MCi Carbon was founded in 2013 to commercialise a process known as mineral carbonation, which permanently locks CO₂ into mineral products that can be used across industries including cement, plasterboard, refractories, paper and construction materials. The company's vision emerged from research highlighting mineral carbonation as a viable long-term carbon storage solution, but at the time there were few examples of the technology being deployed at scale.

🌟 A major milestone was recently achieved with the opening of what MCi Carbon describes as the world's first fully integrated carbon refinery in Newcastle. The demonstration facility can permanently store approximately 2,500 tonnes of CO₂ each year while producing around 10,000 tonnes of low-carbon materials for industrial use.

🚩 One challenge highlighted in the discussion is the ongoing uncertainty around climate policy frameworks. While governments and corporations have broadly committed to net zero by 2050, many of the regulatory mechanisms needed to support large-scale decarbonisation are still evolving. Carbon markets, emissions trading schemes and standards continue to develop across different jurisdictions, creating uncertainty for climate technology companies seeking to scale globally.

🚩 Another challenge is convincing industrial companies to adopt new technologies at scale. Heavy industries have traditionally faced limited commercially viable options for reducing emissions, particularly in sectors such as steel, cement and chemicals where emissions are difficult to eliminate. Success depends not only on environmental performance, but also on economics, operational integration and customer demand for lower-carbon materials.

🌟 One of MCi Carbon's differentiators is that its business model does not rely solely on carbon credits or emissions trading schemes. The company has designed its technology to generate revenue through the sale of valuable products created from captured CO₂. In some cases, customers are interested purely in removing emissions from their operations, leading to what Sophia describes as "carbon removal as a service".

🌟 The technology is also designed as a "bolt-on" solution that can be installed alongside existing industrial facilities. By locating operations close to major emitters, MCi Carbon can take captured CO₂ and convert it directly into useful materials, lowering barriers to adoption for industrial customers.

⚠️ Looking ahead, Sophia believes the next 18 months could be a pivotal period for industrial decarbonisation technologies. As pressure grows for heavy industries to reduce emissions and more governments establish climate transition frameworks, demand for commercially viable carbon utilisation technologies is expected to increase significantly. The company is also exploring opportunities linked to sustainable finance, including green bonds and infrastructure-style investment models.

💡 Why it matters:

Heavy industries account for a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet they remain among the hardest sectors to decarbonise. Technologies that can transform captured carbon into commercially valuable products offer a potentially powerful alternative to treating emissions solely as a compliance or waste-management problem. If successful, carbon recycling could help industries reduce emissions, unlock new revenue streams and accelerate progress towards net zero while creating entirely new markets for low-carbon materials.

🎙️ Sources:

• Sophia Hamblin Wang, co-founder and chief operating officer, MCi Carbon

• Michelle Baltazar, host, The Greener Way podcast

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction to carbon recycling and industrial decarbonisation

01:30 - Why MCi Carbon was founded

04:15 - Building a carbon refinery in Australia

07:10 - Global investors and strategic partners

10:15 - Europe and Japan expansion plans

11:45 - Regulatory uncertainty and net-zero frameworks

13:00 - Carbon removal as a service explained

14:10 - Opportunities in steel, cement and heavy industry

15:15 - Future growth, green bonds and scaling commercial plants

16:00 - Why the next 18 months will be critical

🌿 We record on Gadigal Land and pay our respects to the traditional custodians of country and elders past and present.