Helsinki-based Carbo Culture recently closed a $18 million Series A funding round, co-led by GenZero and True Ventures, alongside support from Tesi and several notable climate tech investors and family offices. Renowned for its pioneering carbon removal technology, Carbo Culture aims to bring its proven solutions to market by 2025. With this substantial financial boost, the company plans to propel its commercialization and deployment efforts forward. Having successfully initiated Europe’s largest biochar plant earlier this year, Carbo Culture intends to leverage the funding to develop commercial-scale projects capable of removing up to 20kt CO2 annually, a move that will be financed through project capital.
Carbo Culture is at the forefront of harnessing nature’s exceptional CO2 absorption efficiency, driven by plant-based photosynthesis and solar power. They employ patented reactors to convert waste biomass into biochar, a solid, inert substance that securely stores carbon for the long term. Their pioneering process yields top-grade biochar ideal for diverse agricultural and construction applications. Furthermore, this innovative approach generates renewable energy, contributing to a more sustainable energy landscape. Notably, Carbo Culture’s method also creates significant carbon credits, making a tangible impact in the carbon credit market.
“GenZero is such an important partner for us at this growth inflection stage,” says Carbo Culture CEO and Co-founder Henrietta Moon “To accelerate the green transition, companies like us need partners who understand the global energy transition and carbon markets, and are able to support companies in leading the space as they scale.”
The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said that in addition to rapid and widespread carbon reduction, in order to get to Net-Zero and limit warming below 2°C, substantial amounts of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) will be necessary. Biochar is a material made from heating biomass at high temperatures in oxygen-limited environments, allowing it to durably store carbon. It has several co-benefits when it’s added to soil, including nutrient retention and water-holding capacity.
Biochar technology is one of the only functional ways in the world today to remove carbon in an energy-generating manner. According to CDR.fyi, biochar credits make up 87% of all delivered permanent removal to date. Carbo Culture salutes all the efforts made in farm-scale and in-field conversion technologies, and is aiming to lead the industrial-scale segment of biochar.
“Henrietta and the Carbo Culture team have proven with their R3 reactor pilot that carbon can be removed from the atmosphere and locked into a stable form,” said Toni Schneider, partner at True Ventures. “It was an imaginative idea and now it’s real. This next step of building a commercial facility is going to be a notable milestone in decarbonisation efforts.”
With this substantial funding boost, Carbo Culture is primed to accelerate its journey, expand operational capabilities, and continue innovating in the realm of carbon removal solutions. The company is resolute in making significant strides toward a sustainable future and eagerly anticipates sharing this transformative journey with stakeholders and communities worldwide.
Frederick Teo, CEO of GenZero, said, “Carbo Culture’s work leverages the power of both technology and nature to produce biochar with superior carbon sequestration capabilities. By undergoing Carbo Culture’s Carbolysis™️ process, a greater amount of carbon is locked in per unit of biochar and stored more durably than conventional production methods. This proprietary technology also avoids the production of bio-oil, resulting in higher yields of clean syngas from waste biomass, which in turn can be used to generate renewable electricity and heat. We look forward to supporting Carbo Culture in their next stage of growth and scaling its decarbonisation impact across more markets.”
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