Following the recent announcement of the company’s first direct air capture and geologic sequestration facility, Orchard One, Spiritus has announced manufacturing capabilities in a purpose-built facility in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Dubbed Garden One, the facility will exclusively produce the novel sorbent material that will enable Orchard One (and future Carbon Orchards) to passively remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
“By establishing our sorbent manufacturing operations near Kansas City, we’re able to tap into the area’s significant transportation infrastructure and strong technical labor pool,” said Mindy Ren, Head of Carbon Removal Infrastructure at Spiritus. “Lee’s Summit’s central location and proximity to major interstates and rail lines mean that we’re never more than two days from receiving raw materials or transporting completed sorbent to any location in the country. This helps us to minimize the carbon footprint of our manufacturing efforts through optimized transportation logistics – and sets us up to keep that footprint minimal as we establish new Carbon Orchards in the years to come.”
The sorbent manufactured at the facility – referred to as “fruit” by the company – passively adsorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere which is then desorbed and sequestered in underground geologic formations on-site at Carbon Orchard facilities. Garden One is Spiritus’ first manufacturing facility, where the “fruit” will be “grown.”
Located at 2237 NE Town Centre Boulevard, Garden One is the first tenant in a new industrial warehouse operated by an affiliate of Ward Development and Investment Company based in Grain Valley, Missouri. Garden One will occupy 37,500 square feet of the complex. Operations at the facility began this summer in preparation for production runs to begin in the fall, all in support of initial Orchard One carbon removal activities in 2026. As Garden One’s capacity scales, Spiritus anticipates adding 30 jobs to the local economy over the next three years.
“The material we’re producing at Garden One is exquisite in its structure, mimicking the human lung, and, yet, is easy to mass produce,” said Charles Cadieu, CEO and co-founder of Spiritus. “To ensure this sorbent can be manufactured at scale while meeting the incredibly high standards needed to bring the cost of direct air capture under $100 per ton, it is crucial that Spiritus maintain end-to-end control of the process. We’ve intentionally designed the sorbent to make use of easily obtainable materials, available in every global region, allowing us to set up manufacturing anywhere in the world while simultaneously keeping costs low. Missouri’s central location, strong labor pool, and competitive economic incentives made it an easy choice for Spiritus’ first manufacturing facility.”
“On behalf of the City of Lee's Summit, I am delighted to welcome Spiritus' first manufacturing facility to our community," said Lee's Summit Mayor Bill Baird. "This facility with its cutting-edge technology, will bring valuable jobs to our city while underscoring our place as a hub for innovation and sustainable growth. We look forward to the contributions Spiritus will bring to our community and the broader industry."