FROM SEA TO SKY: THE FUTURE OF DIRECT AIR CAPTURE

Nova Scotia start-up Aeon Blue in Foresight Canada’s Top 50 Most Investible Companies for developing sustainable fuels using renewable energy, saltwater and captured CO2 from the air

“Clean energy is the #1 crisis of this century, with water as the second. We're here to impact gigatons of carbon while proving that the clean fuels industry doesn't need to pull from the freshwater resources communities depend on. Our ultrapure water serves vital industries—pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, chemical processing—and as climate change accelerates, seawater is increasingly becoming the source for humanity's future. Our platform delivers a comprehensive solution to the most significant challenges of our era.”

-- Lark Meadow, CEO & Co-Founder, Aeon Blue

Interview with Lark Meadow, CEO & Co-Founder, Aeon Blue

By Suzanne Forcese

WT: Lark, please introduce yourself and Aeon Blue to our viewers.

Meadow: We are Aeon Blue. I serve as CEO and co-founded the company with Deóis (“Yoshi”) Ua Cearnaigh, our Chief Science Officer. We are siblings and our technology is based on Yoshi’s decades-long work as an electrochemist and renewable energy scientist. My background is in executive management, project development, relations, and media.

It all started when Yoshi called me 10 years ago with a request to help him bring his technology to market. We teamed up, not just because I believe in him, but because I believe in the transformative impact this technology will have.

After years in stealth mode—pivoting twice, navigating Covid, finding the right product-market fit, and doing an international move to Canada, our company is the iteration that you see today.

WT: What is the Aeon Blue mission?

Meadow: Our purpose is to “leave this world better than we found it”, and our seawater-to-fuels platform solves the high cost of e-Fuels for hard-to-abate industries like aviation and maritime, while also maximizing carbon impact because we make a portfolio of products (atmospheric CO2, ultrapure water, and e-Rocket Fuel).

Through integration of high energy processes and a portfolio that spreads risk and cost, we produce a clean fuel at the same price as fossil, while also solving the atmospheric CO2 and water supply chain issues for hydrogen and e-Fuel producers, enabling these companies to obtain feedstocks at equitable prices.

WT: “The right market fit and the move to Nova Scotia” how did this evolve?

Meadow: Our journey to Nova Scotia began when we were contacted by the Canadian federal government as they heard that we had a hydrogen and carbon capture technology.

We were already looking at Atlantic Canada as a potential place to build in the future due to the incredible wind resource, geographic positioning, infrastructure, workforce, and climate-positive government.

We worked with the provincial government (InvestNS) and the Verschuren Centre in Sydney to locate where the best location would be for our first plant. We made the move to Cape Breton and transitioned into a Canadian company in 2024.

WT: Why is Cape Breton the chosen site for your pilot?

Meadow: The project site has been strategically selected to maximize operational efficiency and geological storage potential. The coastal location is on the eastern edge of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and will provide essential direct access to seawater for the DAC process while a 20MW solar farm will power operations.

The site's position above the Horton Group geologic formation - consisting of fractured shale and sandstone capped by Windsor evaporites - enables direct CO2 injection and storage for >1000 years.

By repurposing former industrial land, the project leverages existing infrastructure while supporting regional economic development.

WT: Tell us about the plant and your projections.

Meadow: The pilot will be a ~30 tonne/yr e-SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) plant, while also capturing surplus carbon dioxide from air, producing ultrapure water and e-Rocket Fuel. This plant will operate for a couple of years and we plan to offer tours and demonstrations.

Our first commercial plant, called “Wind West” will produce ~3,000 tonnes/yr eSAF, along with the same co-products, with a carbon impact (storage + fossil prevention) of at least 20,000+ tonnes/yr. This plant will go online around 2028, with plans for expansion by 2030.

WT: Congratulations on being named as one of the Foresight 50, Canada's Most Investible Companies!

Meadow: Thank you! Canada offers the world's most supportive environment for early-stage cleantech companies, and Foresight plays a major role in the ecosystem. It’s an honor to be included.

Moving to Canada was the best decision we could have made for our company.

WT: This has the potential to be a win-win.

Meadow: Yes. It is about building together – with community benefits:

• Indigenous engagement --Priority hiring for Mi'kmaq First Nations
• Community resources: Providing distilled water for local use
• Educational partnerships with local universities for workforce development
• Skills development -- training programs in clean tech operations
• Regional revitalization -- Converting former industrial land into a clean tech facility
  
  

WT: Describe how the technology works. How does the Aeon Blue process differ from traditional methods?

Meadow: Our seawater-to-fuels technology is based in saltwater electrochemistry. We use seawater to split hydrogen while capturing CO2 from air (DAC), all in the same energy step.

It’s an integrated process that also produces ultrapure water from seawater (we extract the salts for our process) and makes sodium chlorate (e-Rocket Fuel).

Each facility will be different, but general guidelines are that for every 1 tonne of eFuel we make, we impact ~10 tonnes of CO2 through a mix of removal + prevention.

Our primary differentiation lies in our choice of electrolyzer.

Most of the hydrogen in the market is being produced with freshwater resources. We use a saltwater electrolysis method that is reliant on salts from the ocean, or brine water, or even produced water.

This eliminates the use of freshwater streams while also producing a valuable portfolio.

While other companies simply produce one product (hydrogen, e-Fuels, or carbon capture), our economic strength is due to our comprehensive platform. This mirrors traditional manufacturing—one facility, multiple products.

Aeon Blue is a modular hybrid solution, and our co-products serve as feedstocks for the clean fuels industry, so they too can make fuels right alongside us.

WT: What would you like investors to know. What is your business model?

Meadow: Our business model is designed completely around JVs with industry and capital partners. We know our technology better than anyone—how and where it's optimized.

Aeon Blue's innovative technology has earned validation from leading institutions across industry and academia, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, two DOE-backed DAC programs (IgniteX by Black & Veatch & DAC Pioneers by AirMiners), the Research Triangle Institute, the Verschuren Centre, and Global Energy Mentors, a collective of over 50 industry experts.

Aeon Blue’s technology has been published in the peer-reviewed journal “Energy Conversion and Management”, and our company debuted its technology for industry in 2023, performing both hydrogen production and Direct Air Capture live for audiences in Europe and the Americas.

Our team has extensive project development and management expertise. What industry needs now are partners who can build projects and deliver clean fuel solutions.

The companies that will lead the energy transition are those producing drop-in fuels at cost-parity, delivering massive carbon impact, and serving as cornerstone feedstock suppliers.

Those are the ones you want to bet on.

WT: What's next?

Meadow: First, the pilot, then commercialization.

By 2030, we aim to expand to multiple locations, each facility adapted to local conditions while maintaining our core commitment to zero-waste operations, community benefits, permanent carbon storage, and fossil fuel displacement. This scalable approach could unlock carbon removal on the gigaton-level while generating clean fuels, fresh water, and economic opportunities worldwide.

Our goal is to impact 5GT of CO2 through removals and prevention by 2050, and to leave this world better than we found it.

Related: This peer-reviewed paper demonstrates that Aeon Blue achieves 3x better efficiency over benchmark eFuel systems that capture carbon dioxide from air for their fuels, due to our integration of hydrogen and DAC within our reactor.