Los Angeles-based CarbonCapture has secured $80 million in funding from investors, including Saudi Aramco, Reuters reported on Tuesday. This funding round marks one of the largest investments in direct air capture (DAC) technology in the past five years, according to industry tracker PitchBook. According to US Department of Energy, direct air capture technology is a form of carbon dioxide (CO2) removal that takes CO2 from ambient, or still, air. The separated CO2 can then be permanently stored deep underground, or it can be converted into products. CarbonCapture CEO, Adrian Corless, emphasised the importance of partnering with large industrial players to scale up DAC effectively. The Series A funding was led by Prime Movers Lab and included investments from Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund, Siemens Financial Services, Idealab X, and Marc Benioff's TIME Ventures. CarbonCapture's technology involves modular machines that absorb and release carbon dioxide for storage or use in products like concrete. Their Project Bison in Wyoming aims to capture 5 million metric tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030. As climate change worsens, carbon removal technologies are gaining attention as a crucial tool to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Companies like Climeworks, Carbon Engineering, Verdox, and Heirloom have also received significant funding in this space. Saudi Aramco and other fossil fuel companies are investing in carbon removal technologies as a way to address emissions from their operations. Corless highlighted the importance of diverse partnerships in advancing DAC technology to address climate challenges effectively.
