In this paper we demonstrate thatnon-commutative localizationsof arbitrary additive categories (generalizing those defined by Cohn in the setting of rings) are closely (and naturally) related to weight structures. Localizing an arbitrary triangulated category$\text{}\underline{C}$by a set$S$of morphisms in the heart$\text{}\underline{Hw}$of a weight structure$w$on it one obtains a triangulated category endowed with a weight structure$w^{\prime }$. The heart of$w^{\prime }$is a certain version of the Karoubi envelope of the non-commutative localization$\text{}\underline{Hw}[S^{-1}]_{\mathit{add}}$(of$\text{}\underline{Hw}$by$S$). The functor$\text{}\underline{Hw}\rightarrow \text{}\underline{Hw}[S^{-1}]_{\mathit{add}}$is the natural categorical version of Cohn’s localization of a ring, i.e., it is universal among additive functors that make all elements of$S$invertible. For any additive category$\text{}\underline{A}$, taking$\text{}\underline{C}=K^{b}(\text{}\underline{A})$we obtain a very efficient tool for computing$\text{}\underline{A}[S^{-1}]_{\mathit{add}}$; using it, we generalize the calculations of Gerasimov and Malcolmson (made for rings only). We also prove that$\text{}\underline{A}[S^{-1}]_{\mathit{add}}$coincides with the ‘abstract’ localization$\text{}\underline{A}[S^{-1}]$(as constructed by Gabriel and Zisman) if$S$contains all identity morphisms of$\text{}\underline{A}$and is closed with respect to direct sums. We apply our results to certain categories of birational motives$DM_{gm}^{o}(U)$(generalizing those defined by Kahn and Sujatha). We define$DM_{gm}^{o}(U)$for an arbitrary$U$as a certain localization of$K^{b}(Cor(U))$and obtain a weight structure for it. When$U$is the spectrum of a perfect field, the weight structure obtained this way is compatible with the corresponding Chow and Gersten weight structures defined by the first author in previous papers. For a general$U$the result is completely new. The existence of the correspondingadjacent$t$-structure is also a new result over a general base scheme; its heart is a certain category of birational sheaves with transfers over$U$.