The carbon casting business was ceremonially unwrapped at Jefferson Industrial Park on Thursday.
Graphyte held a ribbon cutting at its nicknamed Loblolly Facility at 3411 N. Hutchinson St. The company, which has drawn national headlines for its aim at fighting climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions, announced its arrival in Pine Bluff last November and actually opened its doors in January.
Community leaders took a guided tour of the warehouse and saw the proprietary machinery used to cast the carbon into brick-sized blocks. Afterward, they were treated to a catfish and chicken lunch. Once cast, the blocks are wrapped in foil and stored underground in a 70-acre Grant County location for good.
“It’s small. It’s a start, but it will grow like hell,” CEO Barclay Rogers told visitors.
Rogers has assembled a team of scientists from across the country to help Graphyte try to reach a goal of removing 75 million tons of carbon by 2030. As Rogers explained in January, that is 150 times the capacity at which all carbon removal companies operate.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Hannah Murnen, Graphyte’s chief technical officer from Philadelphia, has been working with Rogers on the Loblolly Facility from the beginning and said she needed to figure out what made Pine Bluff a special location. (For one, Rogers’ paternal grandparents were farmers in Tucker.)
“The residuals, the rice hulls, it was very clear this was the right place to do this,” Murnen said. “I think, also, it became very clear, this is a community that embraces what Graphyte is doing. I got super-excited.”
The biomass industry also provides a strong, underlying economic base for southeast and central Arkansas as well, Rogers pointed out.
“Forestry is certainly a biomass industry, helping the world understand the world of biomass and carbon removal first, and then be very well positioned to be a leader in this market, because of the abundant biomass industry,” he said. “That’s been an overarching story of, why Graphyte, why Arkansas and why Pine Bluff.”
Saskia Versteeg is a biomass supply chain and project development leader from San Antonio who’s worked with Graphyte for the past two months. She works with biomass suppliers and forestry/agriculture partners to find additional sources of biomass, and she’s looking for new project sites as well.
“I do love San Antonio, Texas. I only grew up in an area where the environment was very important for our forestry and natural resources,” Versteeg said. “Our water resources are very important to us there. Also, giving back to the community and taking care of your hometown — I felt like as much as you give to your community, you get back. So, I’m looking for places and projects where I can make an impact like that.”
Versteeg said she saw how Graphyte was focusing on starting and investing in Pine Bluff and was excited about it. In fact, Mayor Shirley Washington announced Thursday that Graphyte is investing in the conversion of the former Bush Field on Arlington Street into a multi-use sports park.
“I saw how passionate this team was, and I thought that’s how I was raised, too,” Versteeg said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s San Antonio or a slightly different location. I want to be a part of that, too.”
A block made from biomass is a product of Graphyte’s carbon casting process. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Community leaders and other supporters of Graphyte gather for a ribbon cutting of the Loblolly Facility at Jefferson Industrial Park. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Barclay Rogers, CEO of Graphyte, addresses visitors at the carbon casting company’s grand opening at Jefferson Industrial Park on Thursday, April 11, 2024. In background from left: Allison Thompson, president and CEO of the Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County and Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)