Mars Materials Accepted into Shell GameChanger Program to Accelerate Alternative Acrylonitrile Pathway

HOUSTON, Jan. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Mars Materials ("MM" or the Company), a company working to store captured carbon dioxide into everyday products, today announced its selection into Shell GameChanger and successful advancement past the program's first stage gate. The program aims to validate an alternative, bio-based feedstock for MM's proprietary acrylonitrile production pathway.

MM's acrylonitrile is a key chemical building block for carbon fiber, water production polymers, durable plastics, textiles and more, is hydrogen cyanide-free and has been validated by global industry. Produced at MM's pilot plant, Cassini, the team has successfully scaled its novel process from gram-scale to kilogram-scale production of acrylonitrile.

The Shell GameChanger test program aims to validate bio-based sugar feedstock as an alternate raw material to CO2 for the MM's acrylonitrile pathway.

"We're beyond excited to participate in Shell GameChanger, a program that exemplifies how startups and corporations can innovate together to unlock commercial opportunity," said Aaron Fitzgerald, CEO and Co-Founder of Mars Materials. "Shell's support has already accelerated our development by an estimated three years. Shell GameChanger will help expand our choice of raw material with a bio-based sugar option, giving us another edge over the incumbent acrylonitrile production process, which relies on a globally distributed supply chain."

In addition to technical guidance, the Shell GameChanger program will help MM with support in market discovery as well as commercial demonstration and go-to-market planning.

Having successfully passed the first stage gate of the Shell GameChanger program, MM continues to demonstrate that its partner-first approach works. The company intends to replicate its success and seeks to attract further investment, grant funding, and strategic industrial partners necessary for the next phases of its scale-up and commercialization.

About Mars Materials

Mars Materials, Inc. PBC ("MM") is a Houston, TX-based, venture- and Breakthrough Energy Fellows-backed, carbon dioxide utilization startup. MM transforms carbon into products that purify dirty water and makes materials such as carbon fiber. The company has the only hydrogen cyanide-free and carbon negative pathway to be validated by global industry.

Contact & Investor Inquiries:
Aaron Fitzgerald CEO,
Mars Materials
[email protected]
https://www.marsmaterials.tech/

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SOURCE Mars Materials