A proprietary carbon casting model has helped Pine Bluff-based Graphyte earn a place on Fast Company magazine’s list of World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025 in sustainability.
Fast Company released its list Tuesday morning on its website, placing Graphyte at No. 2 out of 10 companies. The magazine said it recognized Graphyte “(f)or making large-scale carbon removal commercially viable.” The company, founded by Barclay Rogers, opened at the Jefferson Industrial Park last year.
Graphyte, Fast Company said, takes a different approach to removing carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, adding it’s “a key part of fighting climate change, but most technology is still too expensive to scale up quickly.” Graphyte leverages readily available and otherwise unused residues from agriculture and timber such as sawdust and rice hulls, according to a news release. These products naturally store carbon through photosynthesis, according to Graphyte.
Graphyte then dries and condenses the biomass into carbon blocks and stores it underground in what it calls state-of-the-art monitoring. This, Graphyte says, preserves nearly all the carbon captured and consumes very little energy.
“Today’s recognition underscores how sometimes the most innovative ideas are also the simplest,” Graphyte CEO Barclay Rogers said in a news release. “Because Carbon Casting can work with nearly any biomass, doesn’t require complicated technology or permitting, and doesn’t take much energy to execute, Graphyte has been able to capture tens of thousands of tonnes (metric ton, or 1,000 kilograms) of carbon and is on track to become the largest carbon removal company in the world.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Fast Company reports Graphyte will be able to capture 35,000 metric tons of CO2 in 2025, more than doubling its capacity.
“In order to make a meaningful contribution towards saving our planet in the very near term, carbon removal solutions have to be affordable, and Graphyte has achieved that milestone,” Rogers said. “We’re also proud that Carbon Casting enables farmers and foresters to be part of the climate solution while creating well-paying jobs in rural areas. It’s a win-win for the planet, and for the economy.”
With the World’s Most Innovative Companies list, Fast Company acknowledged 10 companies across the world that are “transforming industries and shaping society”, with its own description of each business:
1. Infinium; Corpus Christi, Texas; “For powering planes and trucks with captured CO2 and green hydrogen”
2. Graphyte; Pine Bluff; “For making large-scale carbon removal commercially viable”
3. Zum; Oakland, Calif.; “For launching the country’s first 100%-electric school bus fleet”
4. Copper; Berkeley, Calif.; “For turning induction stoves into virtual power plants”
5. Windborne; Palo Alto, Calif.; “For using AI to better forecast extreme weather”
6. Windfall Bio; San Mateo, Calif.; “For using methane-eating microbes to make fertilizer”
7. Gradiant; Boston, Singapore and Abh Dhabi; “For getting forever chemicals out of drinking water”
8. Samsara Eco; Canberra and Sydney, Australia; “For using enzymes to recycle plastic that’s hard to break down – including synthetic material in clothing”
9. Equatic; Santa Monica, Calif.; “For making green hydrogen from seawater while removing CO2”
10. Savor; San Jose, Calif.; “For making butter and ice cream from CO2”
Fast Company created a list of Most Innovative Companies of 2025 honoring 609 organizations it says are “reshaping industries and culture” across 58 categories. The full list is available at fastcompany.com and will be available on newsstands starting March 25, according to Graphyte.
Carbon dioxide is captured into these bricks processed at Graphyte’s Jefferson Industrial Park facility. (Special to The Commercial/Graphyte)