Cells and Factories
12 industrial processes keep civilisation running. Terraform has rebuilt each one to run directly on solar power and to ship anywhere, so any community with rock and sun can make its own materials.
12 core processes, engineered for solar.
A Cell is one industrial process rebuilt for solar power. It connects directly to the array, with no grid, fuel or operator. It starts with the sun and stops with the sun.
Drying
Solar Drying Kiln
Kiln-dried timber, gypsum plaster, dried product
$55,900
Thermal 1000
Calcining Kiln, 1,000 °C
Quicklime, clinker, calcined clay, fired brick, pure CO₂
$78,100
Thermal 1600
Melting Furnace, 1,600 °C
Rolled architectural glass, mineral wool, remelted metal
$111,900
Arc
Electric Arc Furnace
Ferroalloys, silicon, silicon carbide, graphite, cast steel
$89,750
Electro, aqueous
Water Electrolyser
Hydrogen and oxygen, chlorine and caustic soda, cathode metal
$95,050
Electro, molten salt
Molten Salt Electrolyser
Magnesium metal, rare earth metal, chlorine
$112,200
Catalytic
Catalytic Fuel Reactor
Methane to pipeline specification, methanol
$109,800
Fluid
Gas Separation Unit
Carbon dioxide, oxygen at 90% purity, nitrogen at 99%
$98,350
Mechanical
Crushing and Milling Plant
Graded aggregate, ground powder, sized alloy, prepared batch
$110,350
Desalination
Seawater Desalinator
Potable water, concentrated brine
$908,600
Crystalliser
Salt Crystalliser
Sodium chloride, bittern
$700,000
Plasma
Plasma Metal Recovery
Sorted elemental metals incl. rare earth and platinum group
$165,500 to $297,500
Same chemistry. Energy at a fraction of the cost.
Cells are designed for the lowest possible capital and operating cost. With energy this cheap, we use it freely wherever that lowers the cost of the product: simpler equipment, less heat recovery, daylight-only 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 pressed through membranes | 3.5 kilowatt hours per cubic metre | $0.35 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.
Cells in series, plus 1 megawatt of solar.
A Resource Factory is a series of Cells plus one megawatt of solar. Feedstock goes in one end and a finished resource comes out the other. To make more, add Cells and add solar.
01
Sunlight arrives
Direct current from the array drives the Cells. No inverter, transformer or grid.
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
Out
Cement, lime, glass, brick, insulation, steel, silicon, hydrogen, fresh water
Construction resources
| Factory | Cells | Factory price | Output per year | Payback | Conventional price per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregate | Mechanical ×2 | $973,750 | 95,000 tonnes graded aggregate | 5 years | $5 to $7 |
| Timber drying | Drying | $505,500 | 8,900 tonnes kiln-dried timber | 5 years | $18 to $25 |
| Gypsum plaster | Mechanical, Drying | $574,000 | 4,222 tonnes plaster | 5 years | $45 to $55 |
| Calcined clay | Mechanical, Thermal 1000 | $200,600 | 2,184 tonnes supplementary cementitious material | 5 years | $35 to $45 |
| Brick | Mechanical, Drying, Thermal 1000 | $487,800 | 2,289 tonnes fired brick | 5 years | $55 to $70 |
| Lime | Mechanical, Thermal 1000 | $287,250 | 1,677 tonnes quicklime | 5 years | $60 to $75 |
| Cement | Mechanical, Thermal 1000, Mechanical | $973,000 | 1,709 tonnes blended cement | 5 years | $45 to $55 |
| Mineral wool | Thermal 1600, Drying | $789,050 | 1,056 tonnes mineral wool | 5 years | $200 to $280 |
| Glass | Mechanical, Thermal 1600, Drying | $984,850 | 1,152 tonnes architectural glass | 5 years | $280 to $350 |
Water
| Factory | Cells | Factory price | Output per year | Payback | Conventional price per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | Desalination | $608,000 | 316,667 cubic metres potable water, enough for 3,000 people | 5 years | $0.50 to $0.80 |
| Salt | Crystalliser, Drying | $604,200 | 7,600 tonnes washed dried salt | 5 years | $20 to $30 |
Industrial gases
| Factory | Cells | Factory price | Output per year | Payback | Conventional price per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen | Fluid | $562,200 | 6,786 tonnes nitrogen at 99% | 5 years | $20 to $30 |
| Oxygen | Fluid | $564,000 | 5,758 tonnes oxygen at 90% | 5 years | $25 to $40 |
| Carbon dioxide | Fluid, Thermal 1000 | $690,700 | 864 tonnes carbon dioxide | 5 years | $400 to $600 |
| Hydrogen | Electro, aqueous | $182,750 | 32.8 tonnes hydrogen at 30 bar, plus 262 tonnes oxygen | 5 years | Grey $1.00 to $1.50 per kilogram |
Metals
| Factory | Cells | Factory price | Output per year | Payback | Conventional price per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steel | Mechanical, Arc, Drying | $2,015,350 | 2,917 tonnes cast steel | 5 years | $420 to $480 |
| Manganese alloy | Mechanical, Arc | $991,900 | 515 tonnes | 5 years | $650 to $850 |
| Silicon carbide | Mechanical, Arc | $353,100 | 209 tonnes | 5 years | $700 to $900 |
| Ferrochrome | Mechanical, Arc | $1,024,750 | 475 tonnes | 5 years | $900 to $1,200 |
| Ferrosilicon | Mechanical, Arc | $335,250 | 198 tonnes | 5 years | $800 to $1,000 |
| Graphite | Mechanical, Arc | $528,900 | 140 tonnes | 5 years | $1,200 to $1,600 |
| Silicon | Mechanical, Arc | $433,050 | 140 tonnes | 5 years | $1,200 to $1,500 |
| Magnesium | Drying, Electro molten salt | $781,500 | 104 tonnes magnesium, 302 tonnes chlorine | 5 years | $1,800 to $2,400 |
| Zinc | Thermal 1000, Electro aqueous | $1,458,200 | 463 tonnes cathode zinc | 5 years | $1,900 to $2,200 |
| Waste | Mechanical, Plasma | $1,108,000 | 30.3 tonnes sorted rare earth and platinum group metals | 5 years | $8,000 to $12,000 |
Fuel
| Factory | Cells | Factory price | Output per year | Payback | Conventional price per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Methane | Electro aqueous, Fluid, Thermal 1000, Catalytic | $251,500 | 53.4 tonnes pipeline methane | 5 years | Green about $37 per gigajoule |
Prices in US dollars. Cement wins decisively against delivered cement in remote locations, commonly $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 using the Factory's own lime.
Buy the materials
Terraform sells finished materials from Factories we operate, on multi-year offtake at a fixed price or as spot supply at the Factory gate.