西雅图地区初创企业将工业排放转化为高性能电池材料。
内容总结：
美国初创企业Homeostasis正试图在气候政策、贸易摩擦和全球电池材料竞赛的交汇点开辟一条商业路径。公司联合创始人兼首席执行官Makoto Eyre引用艾森豪威尔的名言概括其领导理念：“计划本身无用，但规划过程就是一切。”
这家位于西雅图地区的公司致力于将捕获的二氧化碳转化为石墨的技术研发，该材料对电动汽车、无人机和电网储能用电池至关重要。当前动荡的地缘政治格局为其带来不断变化的机遇与挑战：尽管美国前政府不重视碳移除战略，但对本土石墨生产表现积极；与此同时，对中国石墨征收的约200%关税却可能压制整个电池行业，进而压缩Homeostasis的目标市场。
去年12月，该公司宣布与沙特阿美投资部门LAB7达成战略合作并获得资金支持。此项合作将助力其扩大生产规模、精炼石墨工艺，以满足电池制造商即用型材料需求，这也与沙特快速建设本土电动汽车供应链的目标相契合。
目前全球90%以上电池级石墨产自中国，而美国自1950年代后基本停滞天然石墨开采，本土生产刚刚重启。传统合成石墨虽可来自炼油副产品，但电池级材料制备过程成本高昂、耗时耗能。Homeostasis采用差异化技术路线：通过熔盐电解法，将工业捕获的二氧化碳在高温盐混合物中通电分解，使碳结晶为石墨电极，副产物仅为氧气。
公司团队分驻华盛顿州塔科马与纽约两地，去年通过预种子轮融资及华盛顿州气候法案共获130万美元资金，计划年底前将团队规模扩大一倍。
当前Homeostasis正在建设每日产能1公斤的原型设备，主要为阿美提供样品。未来两年内拟建成年产数十吨的中试工厂，长期目标则是开发年产100吨的集装箱式一体化系统，可直接部署在已具备碳捕集基础设施的车企或能源公司。
美国每年捕获3000万至5000万吨二氧化碳，目前大多用于强化采油，若经济可行则可转化为巨大原料来源。据电池需求预测，到2030年前美加地区每年约需100万吨石墨。
在Eyre看来，政策波动只是表象，真正的趋势信号是全球电气化转型对储能规模的史无前例需求。“这需要低成本的关键材料支撑。无论政策细节如何变化，我们正在夯实基础、确立航向。”
中文翻译：
稳态公司联合创始人兼首席执行官马克托·艾尔引用艾森豪威尔的一句名言来概括他当前的领导理念："计划本身一文不值，但规划的过程就是一切。"对于这家试图在气候政策、贸易战和全球电池材料竞赛的交叉点上建立业务的新创企业而言，这句格言恰如其分。
这家位于西雅图地区的初创企业正在研发将捕获的二氧化碳转化为石墨的技术，石墨是电动汽车、无人机和电网储能电池的关键材料。
但当今动荡的地缘政治格局正为稳态公司创造着随时间推移而不断翻转的机遇与挑战。虽然特朗普政府对碳移除作为气候战略不感兴趣，却对本土石墨生产充满热情——这对初创企业来说显然是个亮点。但对中国石墨征收的关税（目前总计约200%）可能压制整个电池行业的发展，进而缩小稳态公司所依赖的市场规模。
去年12月，这家初创企业宣布与沙特阿美石油公司旗下投资机构LAB7达成战略合作并获得资金支持。这项合作将帮助稳态公司扩大工厂运营规模，并完善其石墨加工工艺，以确保达到电池制造商"即插即用"的标准。该合作的推动力来自沙特阿拉伯快速建设国内电动汽车供应链的目标。
瞄准美国制造石墨
稳态公司也渴望为北美客户供应石墨，希望有朝一日能与占据全球电池级石墨产量90%以上的中国竞争。美国的商业石墨开采在20世纪50年代已基本停止，本土生产刚刚重启。合成石墨可作为原油精炼的副产品生产，但要制成电池级材料需要昂贵、漫长且耗能的加工过程。
这家初创企业采用了不同的技术路径。其熔盐电解工艺让电流通过含有工业捕获二氧化碳的高温盐混合物，碳会以结晶石墨形式沉积在电极上，氧气则作为副产品释放。
首席执行官艾尔和一名工程师驻守在华盛顿州塔科马市，而由联合创始人朱利安·隆巴迪领导的三名科研团队则在纽约开展工作。
稳态公司去年通过预种子轮融资筹集60万美元，并从华盛顿州《气候承诺法案》获得70万美元资金。公司正在华盛顿州招聘工程师，计划在年底前将员工人数翻倍。
锚定航向
稳态公司目前正在建造每天可生产1公斤（约两磅多）石墨的原型设备，主要为阿美公司提供样品。团队计划在两年内建成每年可生产数十吨石墨的中试工厂。
更长远的目标是开发一套可装入40英尺标准集装箱的独立系统，每年生产100吨石墨。稳态公司计划将设备部署在已具备碳捕集基础设施的汽车制造商或能源企业。
美国每年捕获约3000万至5000万吨二氧化碳，尽管目前大部分用于提高石油采收率——如果经济可行，这将代表巨大的潜在原料来源。根据电池需求预测，这家初创企业估计到本年代末美国和加拿大每年将需要约100万吨石墨。
对艾尔而言，当前的波动只是杂音。真正重要的是底层信号：全球正朝着电气化转型，这将需要前所未见规模的储能支持。
"为此我们需要关键材料，且必须是低成本材料，"他表示，"虽然政策细节可能随时间变化，但我们正在夯实基础。我们正在锚定航向。"
英文来源：
Homeostasis co-founder and CEO Makoto Eyre cites a famous Eisenhower line to capture his current leadership mindset: “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” It’s an apt motto for a startup trying to build a business at the intersection of climate policy, trade wars and the global race for battery materials.
The Seattle-area startup is developing technology that converts captured carbon dioxide into graphite — a critical material for batteries that power EVs, drones and grid energy storage.
But today’s topsy-turvy geopolitical landscape is creating opportunities and challenges for Homeostasis that flip flop over time.
While the Trump administration is uninterested in carbon removal as a climate strategy, it’s enthusiastic about domestic graphite production — an apparent bright spot for the startup. But tariffs on Chinese graphite, which now total roughly 200%, risk depressing the broader battery sector, potentially shrinking the market that Homeostasis is counting on.
In December, the startup announced a strategic partnership and funding from LAB7, the investment arm of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Aramco. The collaboration will help Homeostasis scale its plant operations and refine its graphite processing to ensure it reaches “drop-in” status for battery manufacturers. The deal is being driven by Saudi Arabia’s goal of quickly building a domestic EV supply chain.
Aiming for U.S.-made graphite
Homeostasis is also eager to supply graphite to North American customers, hoping to one day compete against China, which produces more than 90% of the world’s battery-grade graphite.
Commercial graphite mining largely ceased in the U.S. in 1950s, and domestic production is just restarting. Synthetic graphite can be produced as a byproduct of crude oil refining, but creating a battery-grade material requires a costly, lengthy and energy-intensive process.
The startup takes a different approach. Its molten salt electrolysis process runs electricity through a high-temperature salt mixture containing dissolved CO2 captured from industrial operations. The carbon deposits onto an electrode as crystalline graphite, with oxygen released as a byproduct.
CEO Eyre and an engineer are based in Tacoma, Wash., while a three-person science team led by co-founder Julien Lombardi works out of New York.
Homeostasis last year raised a $600,000 pre-seed investment and $700,000 from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The company is hiring engineers in Washington and plans to double its headcount by the end of the year.
‘Setting the course’
Homeostasis is currently building a prototype that will produce 1 kilogram — just over two pounds — of graphite daily, primarily to provide samples to Aramco. Within two years, the team aims to open a pilot plant capable of generating tens of tons annually.
The longer-term goal is a self-contained system that fits inside a single 40-foot shipping container and produces 100 tons of graphite per year. Homeostasis plans to deploy the units at automakers or energy companies that have existing carbon capture infrastructure.
The U.S. traps an estimated 30 million to 50 million metric tons of CO2 annually, though most is currently used for enhanced oil recovery — representing a vast potential feedstock if the economics pencil out. Based on battery-demand projections, the startup estimates that the U.S. and Canada will need roughly 1 million tons of graphite per year by the end of this decade.
For Eyre, the current volatility is noise. What matters is the underlying signal: a global shift toward electrification that will require energy storage at a scale the world has never seen.
“To support that we need critical materials, and they need to be low cost,” he said. “While the policy details might be shifting over time, we’re building solid fundamentals. We are setting the course.”