Johnson Matthey and Noya establish partnership to 'shift the dial' on carbon removal, bringing water-positive system to megaton scale

Johnson Matthey and Noya have established a partnership to manufacture Noya’s proprietary sorbent, the filter at the heart of its cutting-edge direct air capture approach.

The Noya system provides clean water and grid services alongside high-quality carbon removal credits, which enable industry leaders like Shopify to meet their ambitious sustainability goals – related to both carbon and water.

Direct air capture is a promising form of carbon dioxide removal in which CO2 is captured directly from the atmosphere and permanently stored, usually underground, or utilised as a feedstock for decarbonised products. Unlike point source carbon capture, which is performed at the source of emissions, such as a steel plant, direct air capture can be performed in a variety of locations around the world.

Johnson Matthey will leverage more than 200 years’ experience in innovation and R&D to produce the sorbent with a facility, equipment, and techniques that have been used to produce tens of millions of parts for the automotive industry. As a leader in advanced metals chemistry and clean air technology, having pioneered the catalytic converter 50 years ago to remove pollutants in road vehicles, Johnson Matthey is uniquely positioned to support the ambitious scale up of Noya facilities over the next decade.

The Oakland, California-based start-up was founded in 2020 by Josh Santos and Daniel Cavero to accelerate the world’s transition to carbon negativity. Four years later, the company is entering its next phase of growth, bringing its pilot facility online in the San Francisco Bay Area and, in parallel, selecting the sites for its first commercial facilities.

Anish Taneja, Johnson Matthey, Clean Air Chief Executive, said:

“We are only at the foothills of what is possible in decarbonising through direct air capture projects. It’s an industry with a big future and our partnership with Noya can begin to shift the dial on this young industry.

“Capturing CO2 from the air is an immense challenge and one we are committed to making a success of it with Noya. With their start-up outlook and our many years of expertise, I believe we can accelerate this market and reduce costs for this new technology.”

Josh Santos, Noya Co-Founder and CEO, said:

“We are delighted to be working with Johnson Matthey to scale our sorbent manufacturing. From my own experience at Tesla and Harley-Davidson, I know how critical the right partner can be during the early phases of scaling up a manufacturing process.

“We are at a critical inflection point – as a company, as an industry, and as a society – how we execute over the next 5 years will have a huge impact on future generations. Our team is committed to building long-term relationships – like the one we have with Johnson Matthey – in order to affect the positive change we want to see in the world.

“This is exactly why Daniel and I started Noya – to have positive impact, at scale.”