How growing up in Amazonia—paired with a lifelong interest in earth sciences—shaped Marcelo's path to decarbonizing heavy industry at Brimstone.
Marcelo De Oliveira, Brimstone’s first employee and VP of Material Science & Geology, has helped to shape the company's technical foundation since 2020. Originally from Oriximiná in Amazonia, Brazil, Marcelo’s passion for earth sciences was first sparked by the giant bauxite ships that sailed past his small hometown. His interest in the natural world eventually led him to pursue post-doctoral positions at both MIT and the University of Orléans and build a career spanning over 20 years in geology and material science.
Today, Marcelo leads Brimstone's Material Science and Geology teams in rock, process, and product integration, as well as sourcing and characterizing calcium silicate feedstocks. Based in Boston, Marcelo has been instrumental in driving Brimstone's technical progress, from optimizing our deeply decarbonized process, to determining plant locations and securing ASTM C150 certification for our portland cement. Learn more about Marcelo's career journey below.
Where are you from? Oriximiná, in Amazonia, Brazil.
Tell us about your day-to-day responsibilities. My role has changed a lot because I was one of the first employees at Brimstone, and in the beginning, you wear a lot of hats. Today, I oversee the Geology and Material Science teams and manage the rock/process/product integration at Brimstone. This involves finding the rocks in the field, sending them to the lab, making sure we understand them chemically and mineralogically, and how they impact the downstream in the process, including products and the economics. That's all part of scaling up—both the process and the company.
How did you first decide to go into geology? My hometown in the Amazon has a bauxite mine that has been operating since the 1970s. There are many rivers, and every day, you see one of those giant ships passing in front of the town. The ship was so big, and the town was so small, it looked like you could fit the entire town inside the ship. As a child, I was curious about how people could find and take stuff from the ground—the bauxite—and where the ship was going. I remember asking myself, “What is there beyond the river?” I was so excited to find out where the ship was going. I had to leave my town when I was 11, leaving my parents and brother, to get a better education. My dream growing up was to travel around Brazil and the world, and geology was an amazing way for me to do that professionally.
Why did you choose to join Brimstone? Besides the co-founders, Cody and Hugo, I was the first employee at Brimstone. Before Brimstone, I worked at another startup for about 10 years. Staying at a startup for that long feels like a long journey, but it’s exciting because you help build it from scratch, and you know everyone there—their lives and their families. And that’s who I am. I like to know people beyond just their work and support them as much as possible.
That company ended up shutting down in 2020, which was very hard because I had put a lot of my life and heart into it, and I lost it suddenly. I made a promise to myself and my family that I wouldn’t do another startup again [laughs]. But then, a mutual friend introduced me to Cody and Hugo, and I talked to them about the company they were building—Brimstone. I didn’t know how to explain to my wife that I wanted to join another startup made up of just two people. But she was so supportive. Cody and Hugo were just so genuine, and I fell in love with their idea and the chance to do something impactful. Our work at Brimstone is something that could make a difference in millions of people’s lives, and coming from Amazonia, where there’s a lot of suffering due to climate change, that means a lot to me.
Sometimes I ask myself, “Should I go back to Brazil and try to have a big impact on climate change and in the country?” But working at Brimstone means I don’t necessarily need to go back to Brazil to have a big impact and make a difference. Those two reasons—the potential impact I can have with my colleagues' work and how genuine and passionate Cody and Hugo are with their intentions—are why I chose to join Brimstone almost five years ago.
What are three words that describe your work at Brimstone? Exciting, exploring, and building.
What is your favorite thing to do outside of work? I love spending time at home, cooking, and traveling with my wife and kids. I also love watching and playing soccer—the real one, futbol—with my kids.
