Executive Briefing · For City Officials
Minot Advanced Circular Manufacturing
A partnership briefing prepared for the City of Minot · Ward County
Advanced Circular Manufacturing engagement on the US-2 / US-52 corridor.
Carbotura · 8-minute walkthrough · Confidential briefing for authorized officials
The 30-second version
A royalty asset, not a disposal saving.
Three build stages: sizing → commercial structure → capital cost. Press Space or → to walk the Council through each stage.
Phases
100 / 200
TPD · Phase Initial 100 TPD (about 45% of the landfill’s reported municipal intake) · Phase Medium 200 TPD later, when the County chooses
Beneficiation Fee (TMC Fee)
$100/ton
Year 1, +2.5%/yr · the bottom of the standard $100–$150/ton range · above the landfill’s $51/ton MSW gate rate · City receives the Circular Royalty™ back (120%, +1pp/yr)
Optional · Legacy Remediation / Exogenesis™ Royalty
$50/ton
Stacks on top of Circular Royalty™ · subject to Waste Characterization Study · +1%/yr
Capital cost to Minot
$0
Carbotura capital: $75M at 100 TPD · $130M at 200 TPD ($75M first module + $55M additional module)
Category
Manufacturing by design.
Carbotura pursues manufacturing classification for the facility. Nothing in the CSA is contingent on it, and North Dakota has no statute that classifies advanced recycling as manufacturing.
ACM IS
A manufacturing process
- Microwave Catalytic Reforming, anoxic (oxygen-free), sub-atmospheric
- Converts municipal material inputs into synthetic graphite, graphene compounds, recovered minerals
- Manufacturing classification pursued under NAICS 325180 / 325998 / 327992 / 331110 / 331314 / 331492
- Site permitting with NDDEQ; federal classification basis RCRA §1004(27) · 40 CFR §261.2(e), pursued, never a gate
- The CSA is a royalty-producing asset over a 30-year CSA term — ownership of and liability for the delivered material transfer to Carbotura at delivery
ACM IS NOT
A waste-handling operation
- Not incineration — combustion mechanically impossible in the anoxic reactor
- Not gasification, pyrolysis, or waste-to-energy
- Not a solid-waste operation (NAICS 562212 / 562213 / 562219 / 562920)
- Does not compete with, replace, or interfere with City Sanitation’s twice-weekly residential collection
- Does not require new City-supplied transport infrastructure — existing collection routes simply reroute from the current landfill destination to the ACM facility
The relationship · supplier and manufacturer
Minot supplies the feedstock. Carbotura is the manufacturer.
The CSA is a supply agreement with a 30-year CSA term, not a service contract. The City of Minot / Ward County becomes the manufacturing feedstock supplier to the ACM facility; Carbotura is the manufacturer that material stream transfers to under the CSA. Beyond capital, Carbotura brings the industrial platform: manufacturing employment, US critical-materials production, and a circular material loop — located in Minot.
$
100% capital funding
Carbotura funds the ACM facility deployment, site works, and equipment. Minot commits no capital, borrows no funds, and pledges no full-faith-and-credit backing.
◆
Carbotura-financed, owned and operated
Circular Supply Agreement, 30-year CSA term. Carbotura owns and operates the facility. Facility environmental liability, closure obligations, and O&M sit with Carbotura.
◈
Manufacturing jobs
Operators, process engineers, quality/lab, maintenance, logistics. About 25 direct at 100 TPD and about 50 at 200 TPD (estimated from standard per-TPD scaling; indirect roughly 3×). Confirmed at the Deployment Study.
◉
Critical materials & minerals
The ACM facility produces synthetic graphite, graphene compounds, and recovered minerals — strategic domestic supply for battery, EV, and industrial supply chains. Places Minot on the US critical-materials map.
◐
Circularity
Closes the material loop at the community level. The upstream inputs to graphite, graphene, and mineral products are decoupled from mining and imports. Ward County's material stream becomes the manufacturing feedstock.
◇
Regulatory partnership
The Regulatory Predicate Transition — both parties commit to the joint work with NDDEQ and EPA on manufacturing classification alongside site permitting.
✓
Verification chain
Design intent until agreements execute: component certified → module certified by an Authorized Systems Integrator (ASI) → Master Authorized Systems Integrator (MASI) integration, test and burn-in at Factory Acceptance Testing → Site Acceptance and Site Integration Testing (SAT/SIT) certify COD.
The counter-flow · the CSA
What Minot receives back — under the CSA.
The CSA is a royalty-producing asset in place of a disposal liability. Under the Circular Supply Agreement (CSA), the City pays a per-ton Beneficiation Fee (TMC Fee) to Carbotura, and Carbotura pays a per-ton Circular Royalty™ back. Two separate gross amounts: the royalty exceeds the fee and the gap widens every year.
1
Circular Royalty™
Carbotura pays the City 120% of the current-year Beneficiation Fee per ton in Year 1, rising +1 percentage point every year (Year 2: 121%, Year 30: 149%). Uncapped. Paid monthly, 13 months after Carbotura’s receipt of each Beneficiation Fee payment.
2
Widening spread
Because the multiplier applies to the escalated fee, the royalty stays above the fee and the gap widens every year of the 30-year CSA term. This is a proven property of the formula.
3
Minimum volume
The City commits to a Minimum Annual Feedstock Volume (MAFV); Asymmetric Take-or-Pay applies if deliveries fall short. The royalty is paid on delivered tonnage.
4
Optional Exogenesis™ add-on
If the City engages the City of Minot Landfill cell for legacy remediation, a separate Legacy Remediation Royalty (Exogenesis™ path) of $50/ton (on legacy mass, +1%/yr) stacks on top of the Circular Royalty™ under the CSA.
Municipal accounting perspective
How this hits Minot's balance sheet and income.
The City becomes a manufacturing Feedstock Provider over a 30-year CSA term. The CSA adds a royalty revenue line and a fee expense, each recorded gross; it adds no debt, and liability for the delivered material moves to Carbotura.
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Income — new recurring revenue line
Circular Royalty™ receipts arrive monthly, starting 13 months after Carbotura’s receipt of the first Beneficiation Fee payment and continuing for the 30-year CSA term. Recognized as recurring non-tax revenue.
▼
Expense — the Beneficiation Fee
The City pays $100/ton in Year 1, +2.5%/yr, on delivered tonnage. That is above the City of Minot Landfill’s published MSW gate rate of $51/ton (effective 2025-01-01,
minotnd.gov). Carbotura claims no disposal saving.
◇
Balance sheet — no new debt
Carbotura funds 100% of CapEx ($75M at 100 TPD, $130M at 200 TPD). No G.O. bond issuance, no revenue bond, no full-faith-and-credit pledge. The manufacturing facility is Carbotura’s asset; the royalty is the City’s income.
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Balance sheet — liability transfer
Ownership of and liability for the delivered material transfer to Carbotura at delivery. Material sent to the ACM facility does not enter a landfill cell for which the City carries closure or post-closure care.
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Landfill life — airspace preserved
Cell 7 (approved January 2023, $2.36M) was projected to last about 5–7 years; the City bought 320 acres in 2017 for $4M to extend site life 60+ years (
minotnd.gov). Sending 36,500–73,000 t/yr to manufacturing slows the use of cell airspace.
Sizing
Two phases. 100 TPD first, 200 TPD when the County chooses.
Council is not committing to either phase today. The Deployment Study confirms the feedstock baseline and site suitability. Phase Initial is fixed at CSA execution; Phase Medium is a later step, when the County chooses.
100
TPD
36,500 t/yr · about 45% of the City of Minot Landfill’s reported ~82,000 t/yr municipal intake. Carbotura capital $75M. About 25 direct jobs (estimated). No partnership needed.
200
TPD · Phase Medium
73,000 t/yr · about 89% of the reported municipal intake. Carbotura capital $130M ($75M first module + $55M additional module). About 50 direct jobs (estimated). A later step, when the County chooses.
| Year | Fee /ton | Royalty received /ton | 100 TPD fee | 100 TPD royalty | 200 TPD fee | 200 TPD royalty |
|---|
| 1 | $100.00 | $0 (pre-royalty) | $3.65M | $0 | $7.29M | $0 |
| 2 | $102.50 | $120.00 | $3.74M | $4.38M | $7.48M | $8.76M |
| 10 | $124.89 | $155.96 | $4.56M | $5.69M | $9.12M | $11.38M |
| 30 | $204.64 | $295.48 | $7.47M | $10.79M | $14.94M | $21.57M |
| 30-yr gross | — | — | ~$160.2M | ~$207.3M | ~$320.5M | ~$414.7M |
Royalty received, receipts basis: paid 13 months in arrears; Year n = M(n−1) × BF(n−1). Illustrative. Fee and royalty are separate gross amounts. Intake about 82,000 t/yr MSW plus about 68,800 t/yr inert, from six counties (estimated from a vendor case study of the City landfill, undated, written after the 2011 flood; retrieved 2026-11-10). Ward County has two active permitted MSW landfills: the City of Minot Landfill (NDDEQ permit 0272) and McDaniel Landfill Inc, Sawyer (NDDEQ permit 0326). Bismarck or Grand Forks feedstock could be possible later additions under separate partnership CSAs; none is sized here. Sources: City of Minot Landfill · Landfill rates · NDDEQ active MSW landfills.
Regulatory foundation
The Regulatory Predicate Transition.
Also called the dewaste pathway. This is the joint regulatory work that lets a manufacturing operation stand up alongside — not inside — legacy waste-domain statutes.
RPT — both parties commit to the dewaste pathway
Advanced Circular Manufacturing does not fit within the waste domain and does not operate under waste-domain statutes. 100% elemental recycling requires classification onto the manufacturing predicate.
Carbotura brings: the process-classification evidence, the RCRA §1004(27) / 40 CFR §261.2(e) federal classification basis, and prior regulatory-engagement experience.
The City of Minot brings: standing to engage NDDEQ, political mandate for the transition, and where applicable, coordination with the ND Department of Health.
Endpoint: manufacturing NAICS classification recognized across all permitting, licensing, and regulatory contexts. The endpoint is categorical; interim bridging authorities may apply during the transition. State rules today: NDAC 33.1-20 and NDCC 23.1-08. Classification is actively pursued, with nothing contingent on it.
From here to first tonne
Five stages. Commercial operation 12–24 months from permit issuance.
Each stage is a separate Council decision. The Council decision today authorizes only the first stage. Actual Commercial Operating Date depends on Ward County's manufacturing queue position — the sequencing of active Carbotura client deployments at the time of CSA execution.
1
Weeks 4–6
Deployment Study
Feedstock baseline · candidate M1 / M2 / M3 sites · regulatory pathway · verifications against City-supplied documentation. $0 to Minot.
2
Month 2–5
LOI / MOU
Council authorizes the Letter of Intent, recording Phase Initial at 100 TPD.
3
Month 5–8
CSA execution
Circular Supply Agreement signed; 30-year CSA term begins. Site permitting with NDDEQ; manufacturing classification pursued through the RPT.
4
Permit + 12–24 mo
Deployment phase
Carbotura funds, manufactures, deploys and integrates the ACM module. City engagement is minimal — permitting only. Queue-position dependent.
5
At COD
COD · first tonne
Commercial Operating Date, certified by SAT/SIT. Beneficiation Fee paid monthly in arrears; the Circular Royalty™ begins 13 months after Carbotura’s receipt of each payment.
The ask · Today
Authorize a Deployment Study.
That is the full extent of what Council is asked to approve today. Everything downstream — phase sizing, LOI, CSA — is a subsequent Council decision informed by the Deployment Study findings.
Cost to Minot
$0
Carbotura bears the Deployment Study cost
Duration
4–6 wk
Then Council reviews findings
Next Council decision
LOI
Approximately Month 4