Joe Sagues

I think I’m slowly becoming a dad who’s way too into lawncare… not sure how I feel about it.

If the goal of SAF is to mitigate fossil emissions, carbon removal can do the same - potentially with greater scalability and lower cost in the near term. I agree that long-term SAF will be essential, but perhaps carbon removal can serve as a bridge? (2/2)

The airline industry's dirty secret: Clean jet fuel failures PARAMOUNT, California (Reuters) -In 2019, Scott Kirby, the chief executive of United Airlines, hailed its new contract with green jet fuel producer World Energy as an example for the aviation industry...

The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) industry is facing headwinds. I’m hopeful it can overcome them, but I wonder when carbon removal (e.g. biomass burial) might become more attractive (1/2). finance.yahoo.com/news/airline...

Busy day in the BUS Lab as we prepare bioreactors for anaerobic digestion experiments.

Airlines face climate reality check with green jet fuel U.S. airline efforts to address climate change were eclipsed by those of European airlines last year, but even the Europeans aren't making a dent because of the increase in air travel.

“Globally, sustainable aviation fuel is expected to increase to 0.7% from 0.3% of aviation fuel this year. But the International Air Transport Assn. expects air travel to climb 6%, causing another jump in emissions.”

www.latimes.com/environment/...

Y Combinator is going all-in on AI agents, making up nearly 50% of latest batch - PitchBook Of the 144 startups featured in YC's first Spring 2025 batch, 67 of them, or 46%, were AI agent companies.

Y Combinator, one of the most influential startup accelerators in the world, is going all-in on AI agents, making up nearly 50% of their latest cohort of startups. How do people think AI agents will disrupt academia?

pitchbook.com/news/article...

What will it take to build a bioeconomy in Europe? A flurry of projects is underway, but history suggests success won’t be easy

Can a bioeconomy take root in Europe?

A flurry of projects is underway, but history suggests success won’t be easy

cen.acs.org/environment/...

We hope this work sparks greater interest in composting as a robust, scalable Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) approach—especially for wet, heterogeneous organic waste streams.
4/4

--> Levelized costs of CO₂ capture and removal were estimated at $85/tCO₂ and $102/tCO₂, respectively.
--> Significant tCO₂e avoided annually through methane mitigation
--> Nutrient return to soil—a rare benefit among biomass carbon removal pathways
3/4

This study evaluates a simple but overlooked climate solution—composting—as a scalable, low-cost pathway for carbon removal. By modifying traditional composting with CO₂ capture technology, we achieved:
--> A relatively high purity stream of biogenic CO₂ in the off-gas
2/4

Techno-Economic Assessment of Atmospheric Carbon Removal via Industrial Composting of Biomass Waste with CO2 Capture The techno-economic feasibility of removing atmospheric CO2 via industrial composting of high-moisture, heterogeneous biomass waste with CO2 capture is assessed. The novel composting process generates...

Very excited to share new research out of the Biocarbon Utilization & Sequestration (BUS) Lab: "Techno-Economic Assessment of Atmospheric Carbon Removal via Industrial Composting of Biomass Waste with CO2 Capture" published in ACS Omega. 🧵1/4
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

This work was made possible through the support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and we’re grateful for their continued investment in advancing decarbonization strategies in the pulp and paper sector. 5/5

👏 Huge credit to Edgar Carrejo, who led this work brilliantly as first author, and to co-authors Sunkyu Park and Hasan Jameel for their insights and collaboration. 4/5

By introducing sodium spiking into the kraft cycle and retrofitting lime kilns with oxy-fuel combustion, we can redirect that CO₂ into a high-purity stream ready for cost-effective carbon capture and storage (CCS) — reducing capture costs by up to 31%. 3/5

🔬 "Biogenic carbon capture at pulp mills via sodium spiking and oxy-fuel calcination"

📄 lnkd.in/e3yXPmBJ 2/5

🌲 Did you know over 13 million metric tons of biogenic CO₂ are mineralized into carbonates each year in U.S. pulp mills — but then released back into the atmosphere? Our new study shows how we can capture that CO₂ instead — at low cost. 🧵 1/5

Let’s build this little guy a planet that lasts. Climate tech isn’t just innovation — it’s love in action.

Bezos-backed Slate Auto unveils affordable EV truck One outlet has called it the "anti-Tesla," referring to its simple, minimalist stature.

Slate Auto, a firm backed in part by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is unveiling a low-cost electric truck that can also change into an SUV.

Its starting price point: $20,000 after federal EV incentives.

www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...

Computer models have been accurately predicting climate change for 50 years » Yale Climate Connections A research scientist found that many 1970s-era models were ‘pretty much spot-on.’ Today’s models are far more advanced.

Computer models have been accurately predicting climate change for 50 years.

A simple method for producing bio-based anode materials for lithium-ion batteries A simple and scalable method for producing graphite anode material for lithium-ion batteries is developed and demonstrated. A low-cost, earth abundant iron powder is used to catalyze the conversion of...

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Sustainable Li-ion anode material from Fe-catalyzed graphitization of paper waste A novel method for the conversion of paper towel waste to biographite anode material is developed and optimized for use in Li-ion batteries. The surge…

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Catalytic graphitization of pyrolysis oil for anode application in lithium-ion batteries Graphite demand is increasing rapidly due to the popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) and mobile devices. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the power source of EVs and mobile devices and the anodes of...

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Sustainable Graphite and Jet Fuel from Biorefinery Residue This study explores the novel conversion of bio-oil from benzene-toluene-xylene (BTX) production into biographite and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). By replicating synthetic graphite production thr...

chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Catalytic Graphitization of Biocarbon for Lithium‐Ion Anodes: A Minireview Lithium-ion battery anodes are produced in a resource-intensive and polluting manner. This review focuses on biomass-derived graphitic anode materials for lithium-ion batteries that are advancing thr....

chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Explore our work through the links below. If you're interested in collaborating or supporting our efforts as we move toward commercialization, we’d welcome the opportunity to connect. 5/n

In partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), we’re advancing this technology to support a more resilient, domestic, and sustainable supply chain for lithium-ion batteries. 4/n

At NC State, our collaborative team—spanning the NC State Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and the NC State Forest Biomaterials Department—is developing biographite, a novel form of battery-grade graphite produced from renewable biomass. 3/n

With growing supply chain uncertainties—especially around imports—securing sustainable, domestic sources has never been more important. 2/n

China trade war risks stifling America's electric car movement Efforts to seed a domestic supply chain, which began under the Biden administration, need more time to mature.

🧵Graphite is a strategic and critical material for electric vehicles, as it forms nearly 100% of the anode in lithium-ion batteries. 1/n
www.axios.com/2025/04/15/c...

Microsoft’s big buy shows decarbonization potential of paper mills In a deal that shows the potential of carbon capture at paper mills, Microsoft has signed on for 3.7 million removal credits over 12 years.

The pulp and paper industry continues to make its case for atmospheric carbon removal, as I explain in the article published by Trellis Group today. trellis.net/article/micr...