# Mote

> Mote is a Los Angeles-based climate-tech company that turns woody waste biomass into clean biohydrogen while permanently sequestering the carbon. Using a biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) process spun out of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Mote pairs energy production with carbon removal: each utility-scale plant is designed to produce roughly 60 tons of carbon-negative hydrogen per day while removing on the order of 450,000 tons of CO2 a year. The company is developing its first commercial facility near Bakersfield in California's Kern County and a second project in Northern California with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

- **Founded:** 2020
- **Headquarters:** Los Angeles, California, United States
- **Founders:** Joshuah Stolaroff (Co-founder & CEO (former head of carbon capture program, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)), Mac Kennedy (Co-founder (environmental lawyer; former DOE, DOJ, and EPA))
- **Team size:** ~19 employees
- **Products:** Biomass-to-hydrogen plants, Carbon removal and storage (BiCRS), Carbon-negative hydrogen offtake
- **Notable:** Announced as a first-of-its-kind carbon removal plant converting wood waste to hydrogen (2021)., Closed $7M first tranche of a Series A round in March 2025 (targeting ~$15M total)., First commercial project near Bakersfield (Kern County) included in the ARCHES DOE hydrogen-hub award.

## Products & services

- **Biomass-to-hydrogen plants** — Utility-scale facilities that react woody waste biomass with pure oxygen to produce a gas stream that is separated and purified into biohydrogen, with leftover ash usable by fertilizer producers.
- **Carbon removal and storage (BiCRS)** — Biomass carbon removal and storage process that captures and permanently sequesters CO2 generated during hydrogen production, yielding carbon-negative energy.
- **Carbon-negative hydrogen offtake** — Clean hydrogen sold for use in thermal power generation, transportation, and industry, plus durable carbon removal credits.

## Achievements

- Announced as a first-of-its-kind carbon removal plant converting wood waste to hydrogen (2021).
- Closed $7M first tranche of a Series A round in March 2025 (targeting ~$15M total).
- First commercial project near Bakersfield (Kern County) included in the ARCHES DOE hydrogen-hub award.
- Second project advanced in Northern California with SMUD, designed for ~21,000 metric tons/year of carbon-negative hydrogen.
- Technology designed to use roughly 25% of the power required by electrolyzer-based hydrogen.

## Latest updates

- **2025-12** — Ashleigh Ross joined Mote as Chief Commercial Officer to advance carbon-negative bioenergy and U.S. leadership in biomass-to-hydrogen.
- **2025-03** — Secured $7M in first close of Series A round to advance carbon-negative biomass-to-energy technology.
- **2023-08** — Kicked off second biomass-to-hydrogen project in Northern California with SMUD.
- **2022-05** — Entered advanced engineering design for Southern California carbon-negative hydrogen facility.
- **2021-12** — Unveiled plans for a first-of-its-kind carbon-removal plant converting wood waste to hydrogen near Bakersfield.

## Links

- Website: https://www.motehydrogen.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/motehydrogen

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/mote
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-13