Mars Materials’ Aaron Fitzgerald and Kristian Gubsch Named as Breakthrough Energy Fellows

OAKLAND, CA., Today, Breakthrough Energy announced the second cohort of its Fellows program as part of the organization’s mission to support the development of a range of clean energy technologies the world needs to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Aaron Fitzgerald, CEO and Co-Founder, and Kristian Gubsch, VP of Feedstock Development and Co-Founder, of Mars Materials, were named as Fellows, working in carbon dioxide (CO2 ) utilization. Mars Materials (Mars) is working to decarbonize carbon-intensive industries by repurposing captured-CO2 and bio-based feedstocks.

The Breakthrough Energy Fellows (BE Fellows) program provides innovators from across the globe with funding, mentorship, education, and access to the Breakthrough Energy network with the aim of accelerating these new technologies’ path from early development to widespread deployment.

“Our second cohort of Breakthrough Energy Fellows represents a group of brilliant, global innovators and climate thought leaders, all sharing a deep-rooted commitment toward finding innovative solutions to solve the climate crisis. These incredible individuals are working every day to introduce novel technologies and disruptive approaches to a variety of industries that will have the power to reimagine our sustainable future,” said Ashley Grosh, Vice President, Breakthrough Energy Fellows. “To succeed, these leaders need a uniquely tailored set of resources, and that’s why we created the Fellows program.

We are very excited to welcome this remarkable group into our second cohort and support them as they take on our most pressing clean technology challenges.”

Mars is an Oakland, CA-based venture-backed carbon dioxide utilization startup. Specializing in CO2 use, Mars’ mission is to reverse humanity’s industrial waste carbon footprint. The company aims to sequester a gigaton of captured-CO2 into long-lived products such as cheaper carbon fiber and wastewater treatment chemicals.

“Mars is thrilled to be included in Breakthrough Energy’s exceptional Fellow program. Not only will the program’s support advance Mars’ technology development from the laboratory to demonstration scale, the access and collaboration from the BE network will also accelerate product development and commercialization timeline significantly,” said Aaron Fitzgerald, CEO of Mars.

BE Fellows focuses its support on innovations across Breakthrough Energy’s Five Grand Challenges. The second cohort of Fellows consists of innovators working in carbon capture, storage, and sequestration, cement, electrofuels, food and agriculture, hydrogen, long duration storage, and steel. The program also includes projects in biofuels, water treatment, HVAC systems, light weighting, and renewables. The projects were selected through a competitive application process and must demonstrate and model an ability to reduce 500 million tons of carbon dioxide per year at scale.

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Mars Materials (Mars) is an Oakland, CA-based venture-backed carbon dioxide utilization startup. Mars’ mission is to reverse humanity’s industrial waste carbon footprint. The company aims to sequester a gigaton of captured-CO2 into long-lived products such as cheaper carbon fiber and wastewater treatment chemicals.