Carbo Culture Secures $6.2 Million Seed Funding for CO2 Removal Technology

Carbo Culture, a company pioneering large-scale CO2 removal through the utilization of agricultural and forestry woody waste, has successfully raised $6.2 million in a seed funding round. The investment was spearheaded by Silicon Valley venture capital firm True Ventures, with co-leadership from European early-stage venture firm Cherry Ventures. Additional participation came from Swiss climate investor Übermorgen Ventures.

The newly acquired funds will be strategically allocated to expand the team, accelerate product development, and facilitate the construction of one of Europe’s most substantial carbon removal facilities.

Mimicking Nature's Carbon Cycle

Plants naturally capture CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis, converting it into plant matter. Upon decomposition, this carbon typically re-enters the atmosphere. Carbo Culture replicates this natural process, but significantly accelerates its speed and efficiency.

The company’s process involves an “ultra-rapid conversion” of woody residues into functional biocarbons at extremely high temperatures. This effectively “locks” the carbon into a charcoal-like substance that exhibits remarkable stability, remaining undecomposed for over a millennium.

Beyond Carbon Removal: Renewable Energy and Versatile Biocarbon

The process of creating biocarbon from wood waste also generates renewable heat. This heat can be utilized for various applications, including residential heating or powering turbines for electricity generation.

The resulting biocarbon product has diverse applications, ranging from biomaterials and environmental engineering to replacing polluting materials and use in gasifiers, or even enhancing soil health in agriculture. Carbo Culture primarily markets carbon removal credits and the biocarbon itself.

Vision and Support

Henrietta Moon, CEO and co-founder of Carbo Culture, stated that a rapid acceleration of carbon sequestration is crucial. She emphasized the underutilization of the natural carbon cycle and highlighted her company’s breakthrough technology for long-term carbon storage.

Toni Schneider, partner at True Ventures, expressed confidence in Carbo Culture’s potential to address a critical global challenge. He noted the increasing demand for carbon capture and the need for innovative solutions.

Sophia Bendz, partner at Cherry Ventures, lauded Carbo Culture’s effective negative emissions technology and expressed excitement about the company’s scaling potential.

Competitive Landscape and Future Outlook

Carbo Culture operates within a growing field of carbon removal technologies, with competitors including Climeworks, Carbon Engineering, CarbFix, Charm Industrial, and CarboFex.

Christopher Carstens, CTO and co-founder, reported an eightfold increase in production capacity and ongoing testing with various partners. The company’s pilot plant in California’s Central Valley currently processes over 200lbs of biomass per hour.

The founders initially connected at Singularity University’s program at the Nasa Ames Research Center in 2013. The core technology was licensed from the University of Hawaii and has been independently verified by Puro.earth.

Carbo Culture has already secured a significant (pre) purchase agreement for carbon removal credits from South Pole. The company aims to reduce its carbon removal cost to $400 per ton by the end of next year and further to $200 by 2024, with plans to build a large-scale facility in Europe within the next 18 months.

Additional investors include Albert Wenger, Maija Itkonen, Alex Patist, David Helgason, Moaffak Ahmed, Lifeline Ventures, Paul Bragiel, and Dan Bragiel.

The scientific consensus emphasizes the necessity of both curbing CO2 emissions and actively removing carbon from the atmosphere to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and mitigate the most severe consequences of global warming.