Travertine logo

CARBON

NEGATIVE

ZERO-WASTE

LITHIUM

NICKEL

PHOSPHORUS

Critical elements such as lithium and phosphorus help drive decarbonization and feed the world. We partner with mining and fertilizer industries to recycle wastes into green chemicals and carbon-negative building materials.

THE TRAVERTINE
PROCESS

Travertine Process graphic showing inputs and outputs

ONE PROCESS, MULTIPLE BENEFITS

A large mound of phosphogypsum byproduct looms over a riverbank

ELIMINATE WASTE + CREATE VALUE

Mining and fertilizer production produce billions of tons of sulfate byproducts. Managing these byproducts is a major operational cost and environmental liability. Our process produces carbon-negative building materials instead of sulfate byproducts.
UPCYCLE SULFATE BYPRODUCTS >
Overhead view of tanks of sulfuric acid

CARBON-NEGATIVE SULFURIC ACID

Sulfuric acid is the world’s most-used inorganic chemical. Currently, most sulfur used to produce sulfuric acid is a fossil fuel byproduct. Travertine leads industrial decarbonization with a fossil-free process to produce and recycle sulfuric acid.
SOURCE SULFURIC ACID >
A massive pile of white calcium carbonate dwarfs a bulldozer

CARBON REMOVAL + PERMANENT SEQUESTRATION

The Travertine Process integrates direct air capture (DAC) to remove CO2 from the air and permanently store it in building materials. Our precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) can be used to help decarbonize cement.
SOURCE CDR CREDITS AND/OR PCC >
A row of wind turbines grace a mountain ridge at sunset

GREEN HYDROGEN

Hydrogen is central to the energy transition for industrial uses such as steel making, process heat, transportation, and beyond. However, 96% of hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels with heavy emissions. Our process optionally co-produces cost-competitive green hydrogen.
SOURCE GREEN H2 >

HOW IT WORKS



1. Electrolysis generates sulfuric acid and caustic solutions. Sulfuric acid is used to extract valuable elements from ores, creating sulfate byproducts.

2. Direct Air Capture (DAC) uses caustic solution to pull carbon dioxide from the air.

3. Mineralization uses captured carbon dioxide to convert sulfate byproducts into carbon-negative building materials.
An infographic shows the three major components of Travertine's circular process: direct air capture, mineralization, and electrolysis.

WHO
WE ARE

Our team is working to scale the Travertine Process for chemical recycling, no-waste critical element extraction, and decarbonized building materials. Our process mimics the natural cycles that regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide. Travertine is based in Boulder, CO, USA with a team of engineers and scientists dedicated to scaling practical solutions to climate change.
JOIN OUR TEAM >
Travertine team photo standing outside their Colorado laboratory

MEET THE TEAM

Laura Lammers headshot
Laura Lammers, PhD
Founder & CEO
Owen Cadwalader headshot
Owen Cadwalader
COO
Christine Parra headshot
Kristine Parra
Lab Director
Chris Komlos headshot
Chris Komlos
Director of Process Engineering
Winfield Greene headshot
Winfield Greene
Director of Electrochemical Stack Engineering
Chris Kim headshot
Chris Kim, PhD
Electrochemical Engineering Manager
Raef Sully headshot
Raef Sully
Advisor
Dave Summers headshot
Dave Summers
Technical Advisor

OUR ORIGIN STORY

Travertine was founded by Laura Lammers, PhD, a former professor of geochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and leading expert in carbonate mineralization. Laura had been working on carbonates her entire career and wondered how we could clean up and decarbonize the materials we rely on for the energy transition. The Travertine Process was inspired by two key insights:

1. To utilize and sequester CO2 at the gigaton-scale, we need gigaton-scale products for the world’s largest industries, and

2. If we couple carbonate mineralization with critical element production, we can reduce cost while eliminating waste.

AWARDS &
MEDIA
ACCOLADES

BNEF award logoC&EN award logoThird Derivative First Gigaton Captured Award logo
Canary Media logo

A new demo plant will repurpose mining waste and also capture CO2

Travertine’s demo facility in Rochester, NY, will upcycle captured CO2 and discarded gypsum into sulfuric acid for use in a nearby metals company’s operations.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Waste 360 logo

Travertine makes sulfuric acid while sequestering carbon

Technology startup Travertine has developed a process to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and sequester it permanently, while also making sulfuric acid, reportedly the most used inorganic chemical in the world.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Forbes logo

Mining independence is the key to energy independence

Travertine has a circular economy play: capture carbon by upcycling sulfuric acid from mine waste and then use that acid for the extraction of lithium, nickel and cobalt.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE

INVESTORS
& PARTNERS

Holcim logo
Clean Energy Ventures logo
Grantham Foundation logo
Bidra logo
Builders Vision logo
ARPA-E logo
Frontier Climate logo
Third Derivative logo
4 Corners Carbon Removal Coalition logo
Talon Metals logo
Carbon Removal Alliance logo

LET'S
GET
STARTED

Interested in eliminating your sulfate byproducts, increasing your sulfuric acid capacity, or reaching net-zero targets with permanent CDR or decarbonized building materials? Contact us!
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