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Our Origin Story

Extracting more value, scaling permanent carbon removal, eliminating waste

Travertine was founded to solve one of the most pressing problems in the mining industry: Producing vital elements without creating mountains of waste.

 

The idea for Travertine was born from a meeting between founder, Laura Lammers, PhD, and mining executives seeking solutions for industrial mineral waste. The Travertine Process is inspired by the rock weathering cycle, which naturally regulates carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over hundred-million-year timescales. We leverage the scale, speed, and economics of heavy industry to produce critical elements in a way that eliminates sulfate byproducts like phosphogypsum and permanently stores CO2 in cement materials. Travertine was founded by Laura Lammers, former professor of geochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley and Owen Cadwalader, environmental engineer and serial startup operator.

Closing the loop between extraction and construction with scalable and practical decarbonization.

Global Reach

World-scale opportunity for impact

  • Mass of landfill

    >300M

    METRIC TONS phosphogypsum PER YEAR

  • Projected shortage

    200k MT

    Purified Phosphoric Acid

  • Human GHG impact

    >50GT

    co2 per year compared with 1Gt/yr natural permanent sequestration

A Mission-Driven Team

Travertine has built a team that unites innovators with seasoned experts ready to scale industrial technology.

Travertine Team Members

Facility Gallery

Travertine currently operates an RD&D and engineering facility in Boulder and a demonstration plant in upstate New York.

CUTTING-EDGE FACILITIES FOR ENGINEERING & INNOVATION

Travertine’s Boulder, CO headquarters is a 21,000 sf engineering, analytical and RD&D facility. Safety is a prerequisite to progress, so we implement rigorous safety protocols to ensure work gets done without compromising the health of employees, the environment, or the community.

 

Electrolysis sits at the heart of our process chemistry. Our world-class team of electrochemists is delivering innovations that will dramatically reduce the capital and operating costs of sulfate salt splitting. We test cutting-edge innovations in cells designed in-house for rapid manufacturing and optimal performance, using test stations configured to precisely monitor and isolate performance of individual components in situ.

Travertine’s piloting facilities are equipped to test all aspects of our process, enabling process optimization and rapid learning. Facilities include phosphoric acid digesters, high pressure reverse osmosis and nanofiltration systems, and CO2 capture and mineralization equipment for integrated testing of real feedstocks.

 

Quality control is the backbone on which we build excellence in engineering & innovation. Our analytical team delivers exceptional quality controls that meet or exceed industry standards, led by seasoned industrial chemists.

Boulder Colorado

BOULDER, CO - tech hub and travertine hq

Boulder, Colorado is a vibrant city nestled at the base of the Rocky Mountains, approximately 30 minutes northwest of Denver. It’s renowned for its stunning natural setting, with the iconic Flatirons rock formations providing a dramatic backdrop. The city is a hub for outdoor enthusiasts, offering over 300 miles of hiking and biking trails, 45,000 acres of open space, and world class climbing and skiing. Boulder is also an innovation and technology hub. It is home to the University of Colorado, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Colorado School of Mines is nearby, it was the original home of Techstars, and has a vibrant start-up and clean tech community. Boulder is a fantastic place develop and scale technology for industry.

Awards

10 Start-ups To Watch

C&EN’S 2022

BloombergNEF

WINNER, 2023 Pioneers Award

Third Derivative

FIRST gigaton captured
CDR cohort 2023