# A Sustainable Approach to Direct Air Capture with Noah McQueen, Head of Research & Co-Founder of Heirloom

- Show: [Hardware to Save a Planet](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet)
- Published: 2022-07-07
- Length: 38m
- Episode: 4
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-07-07-a-sustainable-approach-to-direct-air-capture-with-noah-mcqueen-head-of-research
- Listen: https://podcasts.fame.so/e/2869wqxn-noah-mcqueen-head-of-research-co-founder-of-heirloom

## Summary

Noah McQueen, co-founder and head of research at Heirloom Carbon, explains the company's direct air capture (DAC) technology, which uses limestone and steel to passively mineralize CO2 from the atmosphere. He details the cyclic process of heating calcium carbonate to release pure CO2 for storage and regenerating the sorbent, highlighting the design of modular 'cafeteria rack' contactors to enable mass manufacturing and cost reduction. McQueen discusses Heirloom's pathway to under $100 per ton of CO2, the current state of the voluntary carbon market with customers like Stripe and Shopify, and the company's plan to deploy its first commercial plant in early 2023.

## Chapters

- [0:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-07-07-a-sustainable-approach-to-direct-air-capture-with-noah-mcqueen-head-of-research#t=3) Introduction and Noah McQueen's Background
- [3:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-07-07-a-sustainable-approach-to-direct-air-capture-with-noah-mcqueen-head-of-research#t=232) Heirloom's Passive Mineralization Process
- [12:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-07-07-a-sustainable-approach-to-direct-air-capture-with-noah-mcqueen-head-of-research#t=755) Hardware Design and Modularity
- [11:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-07-07-a-sustainable-approach-to-direct-air-capture-with-noah-mcqueen-head-of-research#t=696) Cost Targets and Energy Efficiency
- [15:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-07-07-a-sustainable-approach-to-direct-air-capture-with-noah-mcqueen-head-of-research#t=945) Scaling, Land Use, and Injection Sites
- [17:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-07-07-a-sustainable-approach-to-direct-air-capture-with-noah-mcqueen-head-of-research#t=1024) Voluntary Carbon Markets and Demand
- [19:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-07-07-a-sustainable-approach-to-direct-air-capture-with-noah-mcqueen-head-of-research#t=1146) Company Status, Funding, and Future Vision

## Topics

- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Heirloom Carbon (company)
- Stripe (company)
- Shopify (company)
- Clarna (company)
- Sourceful (company)
- Carbon Direct (company)
- Breakthrough Energy Ventures (company)
- Arrington Capital (company)
- Carb Fix (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Building a decarbonization army with Shashank Samala of Heirloom](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-02-08-building-a-decarbonization-army-with-shashank-samala-of-heirloom) (How I Built This)
- [ICYMI... HIBT Lab! Climeworks: Jan Wurzbacher](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-03-30-icymi-hibt-lab-climeworks-jan-wurzbacher) (How I Built This)
- [HIBT Lab! Climeworks: Jan Wurzbacher](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-06-30-hibt-lab-climeworks-jan-wurzbacher) (How I Built This)
- [Literally unearthing a climate solution with Cody Finke of Brimstone](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-11-16-literally-unearthing-a-climate-solution-with-cody-finke-of-brimstone) (How I Built This)
- [DAC’s bumpy road to commercial scale](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-10-03-dacs-bumpy-road-to-commercial-scale) (Catalyst)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-07-07-a-sustainable-approach-to-direct-air-capture-with-noah-mcqueen-head-of-research. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Hardware to Save a Planet.