Cells
A Cell is an industrial machine that runs one process on solar power. 15 of them make most of what we build with, take carbon dioxide out of the air and turn waste back into raw materials. Cells pay for themselves in 5 years, and ship anywhere there is rock and sun.
The 15 Cells
A Cell is one industrial process, redesigned as a machine that runs straight from a solar array on direct current, unattended, from sunrise to sunset.
Drying
Solar Drying Kiln
Kiln-dried timber, gypsum plaster, dried product
Thermal 1000
Calcining Kiln, 1,000 °C
Quicklime, clinker, calcined clay, fired brick, pure carbon dioxide
Thermal 1600
Melting Furnace, 1,600 °C
Rolled architectural glass, mineral wool, remelted metal
Arc
Electric Arc Furnace
Ferroalloys, silicon, silicon carbide, graphite, cast steel
Electro, aqueous
Water Electrolyser
Hydrogen and oxygen, chlorine and caustic soda, cathode metal
Electro, molten salt
Molten Salt Electrolyser
Magnesium metal, rare earth metal, chlorine
Catalytic
Catalytic Fuel Reactor
Methane to pipeline specification, methanol
Fluid
Gas Separation Unit
Oxygen at 90% purity, nitrogen at 99%
Mechanical
Crushing and Milling Plant
Graded aggregate, ground powder, sized alloy, prepared batch
Desalination
Seawater Desalinator
Potable water, concentrated brine
Crystalliser
Salt Crystalliser
Sodium chloride, bittern
Plasma
Plasma Metal Recovery
Sorted elemental metals, including rare earth and platinum group
Capture
Carbon Capture
Carbon dioxide from the air, as a pure stream
Thermal 425
Pyrolysis Reactor, 425 °C
Pyrolysis gas, bio-oil, char from residual waste
Atomic
Atomic Vaporiser and Mass Separator
Every element in the residue, sorted by mass, as powder, ingot and bullion
Energy Cost per Tonne, Today and on Solar
A Cell uses the same chemistry as conventional plant and pays a fraction of the price for its energy. Every Cell is designed for the lowest possible capital and operating cost. With energy this cheap, we use it freely wherever it lowers the cost of the product: simpler equipment, lighter heat recovery and daylight operation.
Industry pays today
3.6 cents for gas heat, 10 cents for grid power
Per kilowatt hour, at typical industrial prices.
Where solar is heading
Below 1 cent per kilowatt hour
Installed arrays at 3 cents per watt.
| Cell | Process | Energy | Energy cost today | On solar | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thermal 1000 | Limestone and clay fired to clinker | 1,000 kilowatt hours per tonne | $18.00 per tonne | ||
| Thermal 1000 | Limestone calcined to quicklime | 1,250 kilowatt hours per tonne | $45.00 per tonne | ||
| Thermal 1600 | Sand, soda and lime melted to glass | 1,950 kilowatt hours per tonne | $70.00 per tonne | ||
| Arc | Scrap and iron melted to steel | 450 kilowatt hours per tonne | $45.00 per tonne | ||
| Electro, aqueous | Water split to hydrogen and oxygen | 53 kilowatt hours per kilogram | $5.30 per kilogram | ||
| Desalination | Seawater distilled in stages | 6 kilowatt hours per cubic metre | $0.60 per cubic metre |
Energy per unit uses typical global figures. Today's prices assume coal at $5 per gigajoule for cement kilns, natural gas at $10 per gigajoule for lime and glass, and grid power at $100 per megawatt hour. Move the slider to see the solar column at different electricity prices; forecasts point to below 1 cent per kilowatt hour. Costs cover energy only.
What Cells Make
Cells run in a row on one megawatt of solar. Feedstock goes in one end and a finished material comes out the other. To make more, we add Cells and solar.
01
Sunlight Arrives
Direct current runs straight from the array into the Cells.
02
Cells Convert
Each Cell runs one process. Add Cells and solar to add capacity.
03
Building Blocks Are Manufactured
Our own materials become buildings, 99% complete at dispatch.
04
Worlds Are Deployed
Terraform builds, owns and operates the environments.
In
Rock, sand, clay, limestone, ore, scrap, air, seawater, waste
Out
Cement, lime, glass, brick, insulation, steel, silicon, hydrogen, fresh water, and raw materials back out of waste
Construction resources
| Material | Cells | Output per year | Payback | Conventional price per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregate | Mechanical ×2 | 95,000 tonnes graded aggregate | 5 years | $5 to $7 |
| Timber drying | Drying | 8,900 tonnes kiln-dried timber | 5 years | $18 to $25 |
| Gypsum plaster | Mechanical, Drying | 4,222 tonnes plaster | 5 years | $45 to $55 |
| Calcined clay | Mechanical, Thermal 1000 | 2,184 tonnes supplementary cementitious material | 5 years | $35 to $45 |
| Brick | Mechanical, Drying, Thermal 1000 | 2,289 tonnes fired brick | 5 years | $55 to $70 |
| Lime | Mechanical, Thermal 1000 | 1,677 tonnes quicklime | 5 years | $60 to $75 |
| Cement | Mechanical, Thermal 1000, Mechanical | 1,709 tonnes blended cement | 5 years | $45 to $55 |
| Mineral wool | Thermal 1600, Drying | 1,056 tonnes mineral wool | 5 years | $200 to $280 |
| Glass | Mechanical, Thermal 1600, Drying | 1,152 tonnes architectural glass | 5 years | $280 to $350 |
Water
| Material | Cells | Output per year | Payback | Conventional price per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | Desalination | 316,667 cubic metres potable water, enough for 3,000 people | 5 years | $0.50 to $0.80 |
| Salt | Crystalliser, Drying | 7,600 tonnes washed dried salt | 5 years | $20 to $30 |
Industrial gases
| Material | Cells | Output per year | Payback | Conventional price per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen | Fluid | 6,786 tonnes nitrogen at 99% | 5 years | $20 to $30 |
| Oxygen | Fluid | 5,758 tonnes oxygen at 90% | 5 years | $25 to $40 |
| Carbon dioxide | Capture, Thermal 1000 | 864 tonnes carbon dioxide | 5 years | $400 to $600 |
| Hydrogen | Electro, aqueous | 32.8 tonnes hydrogen at 30 bar, plus 262 tonnes oxygen | 5 years | From natural gas, $1.00 to $1.50 per kilogram |
Metals
| Material | Cells | Output per year | Payback | Conventional price per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steel | Mechanical, Arc, Drying | 2,917 tonnes cast steel | 5 years | $420 to $480 |
| Manganese alloy | Mechanical, Arc | 515 tonnes | 5 years | $650 to $850 |
| Silicon carbide | Mechanical, Arc | 209 tonnes | 5 years | $700 to $900 |
| Ferrochrome | Mechanical, Arc | 475 tonnes | 5 years | $900 to $1,200 |
| Ferrosilicon | Mechanical, Arc | 198 tonnes | 5 years | $800 to $1,000 |
| Graphite | Mechanical, Arc | 140 tonnes | 5 years | $1,200 to $1,600 |
| Silicon | Mechanical, Arc | 140 tonnes | 5 years | $1,200 to $1,500 |
| Magnesium | Drying, Electro molten salt | 104 tonnes magnesium, 302 tonnes chlorine | 5 years | $1,800 to $2,400 |
| Zinc | Thermal 1000, Electro aqueous | 463 tonnes cathode zinc | 5 years | $1,900 to $2,200 |
| Waste | Mechanical, Plasma | 30.3 tonnes sorted rare earth and platinum group metals | 5 years | $8,000 to $12,000 |
Fuel
| Material | Cells | Output per year | Payback | Conventional price per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Methane | Electro aqueous, Fluid, Thermal 1000, Catalytic | 53.4 tonnes pipeline methane | 5 years | Renewable methane, about $37 per gigajoule |
Waste
| Material | Cells | Output per year | Payback | Conventional price per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource recovery | Thermal 425, Atomic, Fluid, Thermal 1000, Mechanical | 2,675 tonnes of residual municipal waste into 14 product streams: bio-oil, biochar, activated carbon, metal powders, ingots, bullion and aggregate | 2.5 to 4.3 years | Landfill gate fee of $200 to $420, received for taking the waste, Australian dollars |
Prices in United States dollars. Cement is most competitive in remote locations, where delivered cement commonly costs $200 to $400 a tonne. Ferrochrome, ferrosilicon, manganese alloy, silicon carbide, silicon and graphite all use the same two Cells; only the charge changes. Carbon dioxide is captured from air and released as a pure stream. Resource recovery is costed in Australian dollars at April 2026 prices.
Resource Recovery
5 Cells in a row with 1.5 megawatts of solar take in 2,675 tonnes a year of residual municipal waste and send out raw materials. Waste arrives by truck, a gate fee is paid to take it, and every atom leaves as a product.
01 Thermal 425
Pyrolysis Reactor
Takes the waste in, shreds it and pyrolyses it at 425 degrees Celsius into fuel gas, bio-oil and char.
02 Atomic
Atomic Vaporiser and Mass Separator
Vaporises the char and ash in a direct current arc, sorts the atoms by mass and condenses each element out as powder, ingot or bullion.
In
2,675 Tonnes a Year
Residual municipal waste after recycling and organics collection, 7.3 tonnes a day, with 1 operator.
Out
14 Product Streams
Bio-oil, biochar, activated carbon, iron, copper nickel, zinc, tin and lithium powders, aluminium silicon and lead ingots, silicon lump, bullion, oxide powder and aggregate.
Energy
735 Kilowatt Hours a Tonne
1,971 megawatt hours a year of direct current from 1.5 megawatts of solar, with the pyrolysis gas and part of the bio-oil fired back as heat.
Paid at both ends
2.5 to 4.3 Year Payback
A gate fee of $200 to $420 a tonne to take the waste, plus $209 of products from every tonne, across the Australian markets in the specification. Australian dollars, April 2026.
Buy the Materials
Terraform sells finished materials from Cells we operate, on multi-year offtake at a fixed price or as spot supply of surplus output.