EarthGrid

Renewable Infrastructure Tunneling

Troy Helming

Founder and CEO

Troy Helming founded 2 of the most successful renewable energy companies in the USA: Tradewind Energy (largest wind developer in USA in 2017) & Pristine Sun (leading developer of community utility-scale solar farms in USA). He sits on the board of numerous solar and clean energy companies, and has been an advisor, investor, executive director of over a dozen successful companies. He's the author of The Clean Power Revolution (2004) and creator of The Freedom Plan (2005): a blueprint to convert North American to 100% clean renewable energy.

  • Infrastructure (plasma tunnel-boring). EarthGrid has developed a patented plasma arc technology to bore tunnels dramatically faster and cheaper than conventional methods. This enables underground utility grids (power lines, fiber, pipelines) to be built up to 100x faster and as low as 60% to 10% of the cost of traditional tunneling, with zero explosives or toxic chemicals.

  • Seed/Series A stage. The company closed an oversubscribed seed round of $15M (expanded to $30M via additional commitments) in 2023 and a Seed extension of $10M (expanded to $14m). To date it has raised over $63 million (including prior project financing and founder contributions). It won the 2024 Startup World Cup (global) and its $1M prize. The next funding round is expected to be a Series A to fuel commercial deployment.

  • Spent 7+ years in R&D to build first full-scale plasma tunnel-boring robot (patented). Generated initial revenue of $0.4M in 2023 from pilot projects. Secured rights-of-way agreements for underground infrastructure corridors (indicating future pipeline). CEO Troy Helming has 2 prior energy startups with $40B in value creation and four exits, lending industry credibility.

  • Enables rapid build-out of underground transmission lines and utilities, directly reducing wildfire risk (from downed power lines) and supporting renewable energy projects. Tunneling produces no GHG emissions on-site (plasma is electric) and avoids the ecosystem damage of traditional methods. By accelerating grid expansion, EarthGrid indirectly helps unlock more wind/solar capacity (facilitating CO₂ reductions). It also eliminates the diesel emissions and explosives normally used in excavation.

  • The seed round was backed mostly by family offices and angels (over 1,000 investors via NetCapital crowdfunding as one cap table entry), with a few climate-tech VCs. It has received U.S. Department of Energy support for grid modernization (the CEO contributed IP via a $6M SAFE in 2024). Won “Most Fundable Company” Platinum award from Pepperdine. Partnerships in development with utilities and data center firms for pilot tunnels (to prove cost savings in real projects).

  • Unique IP (11 patents) on plasma tunneling; First mover in high-speed trenching (up to 10x faster in rock) with far lower cost structure. This enables a “grid superhighway” build-out that was previously cost-prohibitive. CEO’s track record in renewables brings customer and investor trust. EarthGrid also secures strategic rights-of-way ahead of competitors, creating a land/network advantage.

  • Significant capital requirements to manufacture tunneling machines and execute projects – the business model is infrastructure-heavy (execution risk). However, opportunities are vast aging electric grids and new renewable projects urgently need transmission and underground cable solutions. Policy tailwinds (e.g. infrastructure bills, wildfire prevention funding) could catalyze demand. The main risks are technical scale-up (ensuring machines perform as expected in varied geology) and market adoption (conservative utilities). If mitigated, EarthGrid can tap into the multi-billion-dollar global tunneling and grid construction market with a sustainable, faster alternative.

Turn2X

Renewable Natural Gas (Power-to-Gas)

Philip Kessler

Founder and CEO

Philip, the CEO of TURN2X, is a seasoned entrepreneur who previously founded and successfully exited an AI company. Now leading TURN2X, he is driving innovation in the energy sector with technology that produces CO2-neutral electric natural gas from green hydrogen and biogenic CO2.

  • Energy (Power-to-gas technology). TURN2X produces CO₂-neutral synthetic natural gas(renewable methane) by combining green hydrogen with captured biogenic CO₂ via a proprietary methanation reactor. This yields drop-in Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) that can replace fossil gas in industry and heating without emissions increase. The modular reactors can dynamically adjust to intermittent renewable power, storing surplus energy as methane.

  • Early growth (post-seed). Raised a €4.3 million seed round in mid-2023 led by LEA Partners, with Verve Ventures and First Momentum. Also secured non-dilutive support (e.g. grant from German government/European programs). Would add that we won the EIC (European innovation council) – (see https://www.linkedin.com/posts/philip-kessler_funding-renewableenergy-sustainability-activity-7247493117690429440-RZ-u?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAB7csJkBEecFKXe_wS3I1YrvX0i5-VD6-HM) (2.5 grant and 15M equity). Currently likely preparing for a Series A to scale up manufacturing and deployments across Europe.

  • Founded 2022 out of research at KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology). Built Europe’s first commercial green hydrogen-to-methane plant in Extremadura, Spain in just 6 months (ribbon-cutting in March 2024) – this pilot feeds RNG into the local gas grid and is sold to their first customer in Germany. The technology handles variable loads (an industry first) and has been running since 2019 at a demo scale in Brandenburg. TURN2X aims to avoid 1 gigaton of CO₂ by 2030 by displacing ~10% of Germany’s natural gas with RNG. Offtake agreements of total 1billion Euros from 3 focus industries: Maritime industry, Utilities sector and Energy-intensive industries.

  • Each TURN2X plant recycles CO₂ and water into methane, yielding a net-zero fuel (CO₂ released upon use is equal to what was captured). This directly abates emissions in hard-to-electrify sectors reliant on gas (e.g. industrial heating). It also helps balance grids by storing renewable energy as gas. The first plant in Spain will capture ~<sup>1000</sup> tons of CO₂/year (for 1 GWh of RNG). Long-term, widespread adoption could mitigate hundreds of millions of tons of CO₂ annually by substituting a portion of fossil natural gas.

  • Backed by European climate-tech funds (LEA, First Momentum) and Verve Ventures​. The founders are leveraging strong German institutional support (incubated at KIT, grants via Innovators Prize). Founding member of ERLG (https://www.energy-resilience.euERLG ) -> The Energy Resilience Leadership Group is a coalition that brings together CEO’s, policy makers, financial institutions, and startups to strengthen Europe’s energy resilience

  • Patented reactor tech that can ramp up/down with renewables (solving a key issue of traditional methanation). This flexibility and modularity (containerized units) let TURN2X deploy at solar/wind farms or industrial sites to capture CO₂ on-site. The RNG product is fully compatible with existing gas infrastructure, easing adoption. Also, by producing a molecule fuel, TURN2X addresses sectors that batteries or direct electrification can’t easily reach (heavy industry, long-haul transport).

  • Market risk in the price of green hydrogen – the economics improve as renewable H₂ costs fall. Policy support (e.g. EU targets for renewable gas blending) will be critical; uncertainty in regulations could slow adoption. TURN2X’s opportunity is large Europe’s gas crisis and decarbonization goals create demand for secure, clean gas supplies, as well as energy resilience (Europe being independent from USA / Russian LNG imports). Competition includes other power-to-gas players and bio-methane producers, but TURN2X’s head start with a working commercial plant and adaptable tech is an advantage. Key execution risks are scaling up manufacturing of reactors and securing enough cheap CO₂ feedstock at sites. With sufficient capital and partnerships, TURN2X can position to replace a significant share of fossil gas with a carbon-neutral alternative.

Re.Green

Tropical Reforestation & Carbon Removal in Brazil

Thiago Picolo

Re.Green, Partner and CEO

Thiago Picolo is CEO of Re.green, Brazil’s leading ecological restoration company, and has led multiple private-equity backed companies in Brazil. Previously served as CEO of Hortifruti Natural da Terra, Brazil´s largest fresh food retailer. Thiago started his carreer in finance, at Morgan Stanley and GP Investimentos, and holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University and OPM from Harvard Business School. Thiago is a board member at Zamp and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies.

  • Nature-based carbon removal (reforestation). Re.Green is Brazil’s leading ecological restoration company, on a mission to reforest degraded Amazon and Atlantic rainforest land at massive scale and generate high-quality carbon removal credits. It acquires or partners on deforested lands and restores native forests, planting diverse species to rebuild ecosystems. The carbon sequestered is sold as credits to corporations seeking credible offsets.

  • Growth stage (Project developer). Backed by significant private capital completed a $79M Series A in late early 2022. Key investors include BW, the family office for Unibanco founding family Moreira Salles, and major asset managers like Dynamo, Lanx Capital and Gávea (led by ex-central bank governor Arminio Fraga). With these funds, Re.Green is scaling operations and is likely not seeking traditional venture rounds but rather project capital and strategic partnerships (though a Series B for corporate growth could occur).

  • To date Re.Green has planted over 4.4 million trees covering 11,000 hectares in Brazil. It has already restored 15,500 ha under its first phase and just signed a second agreement to restore an additional 17,500 hectares – totaling 33,000 hectares committed with Microsoft as the buyer of ~3.5 million metric tons of CO₂ removal over 25 years. Re.Green has acquired ~26,000 hectares of land from ranchers and also just partnered with a large agribusiness (AgroPenido) to reforest 600 hectares of privately owned farmland. Revenues come from multi-year carbon credit offtake agreements clients such as Microsoft. The team is close to 100 people, including forestry scientists and a seasoned CEO (Thiago Picolo) with private equity experience in Latin America.

  • Huge. Each hectare reforested can sequester roughly 500+ tons CO₂ over 50 years. Re.Green’s current commitments (33k ha) could remove on the order of 6–8 million tons of CO₂ in coming decades. Beyond carbon, restoring native forests in the Amazon and Atlantic Forest yields biodiversity gains (habitat for endangered species) and hydrological benefits (improving rainfall cycles and water security). The projects create local green jobs and support communities, aligning with several UN Sustainable Development Goals. If Re.Green achieves its goal of 1 million hectares restored (about twice the size of Delaware), the climate impact would be on the gigaton scale of CO₂ removal, alongside preserving immeasurable ecosystem value.

  • Supported by prominent investors Moreira Salles (of the Itaú banking family), Lanx Capital, Principia, Dynamo, and Gávea have equity stakes. Corporate buyers include Microsoft(two landmark deals totaling 33k ha). On partnerships, Re.Green works with local NGOs and research institutes to ensure scientific rigor in its restoration methods. It’s also coordinating with Brazil’s government as the country prepares to host COP30, showcasing Re.Green as a model for private-sector-led reforestation.

  • Scale and integrity. While many offset projects have faced credibility issues, Re.Green focuses on high-integrity reforestation (native species, permanent protection) to generate verifiable carbon removal credits – a cut above typical avoided-deforestation credits. By owning land and planting trees itself (rather than just funding others), it controls the entire process and quality. The team’s mix of financial acumen and on-the-ground forestry expertise allows it to navigate both investor expectations and operational challenges in remote regions. Re.Green’s strong backing and multi-year offtakes also give it a capital moat – it can undertake large projects that smaller developers cannot.

  • Political/regulatory risk in Brazil – changes in land use laws or carbon market regulations could affect operations (though the current government is climate-friendly). Execution risk on planting so many trees it requires careful community engagement and ecological knowledge to ensure trees survive and forests become self-sustaining. Thus far, Re.Green’s results are encouraging, mitigating this risk with data (80+ native species planted, high survival rates). The carbon credit market volatility is another risk prices can fluctuate, but demand for high-quality removals is strong and growing. Opportunities include expanding into other Latin American countries or scaling through joint ventures (e.g., partnering with timber or agriculture companies to reforest unproductive lands). Additionally, as corporates race toward net-zero pledges, Re.Green is positioned as a premier supplier of nature-based carbon removals, potentially allowing premium pricing and long-term contracts (it already commands ~$50–100/ton for its credits in private deals). Overall, Re.Green offers family offices a blend of impactful philanthropy-like outcomes (forest restoration) with a commercial model backed by real cash flows from Fortune 500 companies.

Hertha Metals

Green Steel Technology

Laureen Meroueh, PhD

Founder and CEO

Dr. Laureen Meroueh, Founder and CEO of Hertha Metals, is leading this venture-backed startup with groundbreaking technology designed to revolutionize steelmaking and significantly reduce emissions. Hertha Metals is on a trajectory to become the global catalyst for decarbonizing the steel industry, leveraging the unique and cost-effective technology that utilizes any grade of iron ore, including waste oxides, to produce pure iron and steel, while dramatically reducing CO₂ emissions. With an unparalleled ability to execute at unprecedented speeds, Hertha Metals is reshaping the future of sustainable steel production.

  • Clean industrial processes (steel manufacturing). Hertha Metals has developed a breakthrough process to produce iron and steel with 50% to 99% fewer emissions than conventional blast furnaces, utilizing today's abundant resources. Their technology produces molten iron and steel from iron ore (even low-grade ore and waste oxides) from natural gas or hydrogen, eliminating the need for coal. Unlike traditional steelmaking that emits large CO₂ volumes, Hertha’s process emits water vapor (from hydrogen) and can work with impure ore that other green methods cannot handle. This promises carbon-free steel production that is also cost-competitive and modular.

  • Early-stage (stealth). Founded in 2022, Hertha has raised an undisclosed amount with support from top climate investors Khosla Ventures, Pear VC, and Clean Energy Ventures. It has also secured significant non-dilutive funding a $2.1M U.S. Department of Energy grant in 2023 for clean iron and steelmaking R&D, and won the DOE’s EPIC pitch competition in 2024 (taking 1st place and $100k). Additionally, Hertha is part of Breakthrough Energy’s Innovator Fellows Program, giving it funding and resources from the Bill Gates-led network. The company is gearing up for their next round of fundraising this year, in support of their next steelmaking plant.

  • The team (based in Texas) has already demonstrated a pilot plant of confidential scale that operates continuously, de-risking the science and process innovation. They are moving forward with a demonstration plant, to be commissioned in Q1 of 2027. Key technical metrics 95% CO₂ reduction, ability to use 100% hydrogen OR natural gas, and compatibility with low-grade ores that constitute a large portion of global reserves. Hertha’s founder & CEO, Dr. Laureen Meroueh, holds 17 patents in related fields and has assembled a powerhouse team including former Airbus engineering leads and metallurgists from ArcelorMittal.

  • Steel production accounts for ~9% of global CO₂ emissions. Hertha’s technology, if scaled, can virtually eliminate these emissions – each typical steel plant emits ~4 million tons CO₂/year, which could be saved. In addition, by using low-grade ore and waste oxides, it recycles mining waste and avoids the emissions of both mining and refining that material. The company estimates that a single 200k t/yr Hertha unit would avoid ~380k tons CO₂/year compared to a blast furnace. By 2033, Hertha aims for a 2 million ton/year capacity, which would abate on the order of 5+ million tons CO₂ annually. The broader impact is enabling clean infrastructure as green steel is essential for low-carbon buildings, vehicles, and appliances. Hertha’s tech could provide that at scale, thus indirectly facilitating emissions cuts in many other sectors (via the use of clean steel in place of conventional steel).

  • Backed by high-profile climate VCs (Khosla, Breakthrough) which signals strong confidence. Also supported by Greentown Labs Houston. The U.S. DOE and Office of Energy Efficiency are effectively partners via funding – Hertha is a key part of the DOE’s strategy to decarbonize heavy industry.

  • Ability to use any iron ore feedstock (including ore fines and rust/scale) is a huge advantage – competitors like direct hydrogen reduction require high-grade pellets. Additionally, Hertha Metals technology can produce cost-competitive steel with lower emissions using today’s abundant natural gas resources while being hydrogen-ready as the clean hydrogen economy continues to develop. Hertha can thus tap cheaper and abundant resources, lowering cost. Its process is also intended to retrofit into existing steel industry, making adoption easier. The speed of execution is noteworthy - Hertha prides itself on rapid prototyping, having gone from concept to operating a pilot in roughly a year, reflecting an execution-focused culture. Finally, the team’s deep domain expertise (PhDs in metallurgy, ex-rocket engineers, etc.) and patent portfolio (17 patents and peer-reviewed publications by founder) create a defensible tech moat and credibility in an industry that is typically skeptical of newcomers.

  • Technical scale-up is the main risk – while Hertha Metals is successfully operating the largest new steelmaking pilot plant in north America, an additional 1600X scaleup is necessary to match production volumes of the steel industry. There is also competition from other green steel approaches (e.g. Boston Metal’s molten oxide electrolysis, or hydrogen DRI projects in Europe), although the market is so vast that multiple winners can coexist. Hertha must ensure its process is cost-competitive with conventional steel, and does this by being able to use natural gas as a reductant until hydrogen prices decline. On the opportunity side, demand for green steel is enormous – automakers, construction firms, and governments are starting to prefer low-carbon steel, and there’s far more demand than current supply. This opens potential for offtake agreements or pre-orders of Hertha’s output. Additionally, heavy industry players may prefer to acquire or license Hertha’s tech rather than develop their own, presenting an attractive exit optionality. If Hertha Metals can prove its demonstration plant by 2027, it stands to become a cornerstone of the net-zero materials economy, scaling to capture a share of the $1+ trillion steel market transitioning to green methods.

Airhive

Direct Air Capture (Modular CO₂ Removal)

Rory Brown

Co-Founder and CEO

Rory Brown, Co-Founder and CEO, leads Airhive in scaling their DAC technology, backed by partners like Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. The company is launching a 1,000-tonne facility to drive impactful climate action. Airhive is advancing Direct Air Capture (DAC) with modular, cost-effective systems that remove CO₂ directly from the atmosphere.

  • Carbon removal (engineering). Airhive is advancing a novel modular Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology – essentially building block units (container-sized) that pull CO₂ from ambient air for permanent removal or reuse. Their system uses a proprietary fluidized bed adsorption process that is fast and energy-efficient, enabled by off-the-shelf industrial components and a clever regeneration method. Each modular unit can capture 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year and is designed to be easily stacked or deployed in parallel. This contrasts with large, bespoke DAC plants; Airhive’s approach is decentralized and scalable in a Lego-like fashion, allowing customers to start with one or two units and build up capacity.

  • Seed stage (early revenue). Airhive closed a pre-seed round in 2023 (amount not public, estimated a few million USD) that included strategic investment from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) and climate VC AP Ventures. It also attracted Collaborative Fund and several angel investors. With this funding, Airhive is deploying three DAC units in 2025 and 2026 (total 2,060 tCO₂/yr capacity) – a 60 tonne per annum pilot in northern England, a 1,000 tpa demonstration plant at a Coca-Cola bottling facility and a 1,000 tpa demonstration plant with project partner Deep Sky in Alberta, Canada – the latter two of which will be among the largest DAC deployments globally. The company will raise a Series A in summer 2025 after proving these pilots.

  • Two 1,000-tCO₂/yr DAC units set for launch in 2025 and 2026 (with Deep Sky, and Project “Skyscraper” with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners respectively). One will feed captured CO₂ into Coca-Cola’s bottling process to replace fossil CO₂ in carbonated drinks. The other unit will deliver pure CO₂ for sequestration, and be used by Deep Sky to generate carbon credits for its customers. Team of ~15 engineers and chemists, headquartered in London. They progressed from lab prototype to field pilot in ~18 months, showing strong execution. Airhive has also garnered policy attention – it was featured in a UK government report on carbon removal innovation. Early customer pipeline includes Frontier (the Stripe/Shopify carbon removal buyers consortium) which has expressed interest in purchasing Airhive’s carbon removal credits upon successful pilot.

  • If scaled, Airhive’s modular DAC can significantly contribute to removing excess CO₂ from the atmosphere. Each unit capturing 1,000 tons/year is equivalent to the annual emissions of ~215 cars. The company’s focus is on high-durability carbon removal

  • Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is both an investor and the first commercial partner, using Airhive’s CO₂ to put the “fizz” in drinks in a pilot initiative. AP Ventures (a VC with ties to the mining giant Anglo American) invested, bringing expertise in industrial gas innovations. Collaborative Fund adds to a growing list of climate-focused VCs on cap table. Airhive has received support from the UK Government through an Innovate UK grant for DAC research.It’s also working with Teesside University on sorbent materials and research on community perceptions of DAC. These partnerships de-risk the tech and provide channels for scaling (e.g., Coca-Cola’s involvement hints at a future market of beverage-grade CO₂).

  • Modularity & speed to market. Airhive’s strategy of using proven industrial components (fans, heat exchangers, etc.) means it can iterate and deploy faster than competitors designing giant custom plants. This “plug-and-play” DAC is easier to finance in stages and can leverage mass manufacturing economies. Another differentiator is targeting pure CO₂ utilization markets (beverages, e-fuels) as an entry point – this yields revenue earlier by selling CO₂ for reuse (valued ~$100–$300/ton for food-grade), while also producing carbon credits for removal when the CO2 is sequestered. Furthermore, Airhive’s leadership is young but well-networked; co-founders Rory Brown and Jasper Wong secured major partners (like Coke) very early, showing an ability to form alliances that many hardware startups lack.

  • The DAC field is competitive and capital-intensive – Airhive will need substantial funding to scale project development. There’s a risk that larger players (e.g., Climeworks, Carbon Engineering/Oxy) outspend and outpace them, though those are building centralized plants rather than modular units. Technical risk lies in ensuring the sorbent in their units can last through many cycles and that energy use stays efficient at scale. Thus far, they claim a design that minimizes energy cost via heat recycling and fluidized contact of sorbent and air (reducing pressure drop). On the opportunity side, corporate demand for high-quality removals far exceeds supply – if Airhive can deliver verified tons, buyers (like Frontier or Big Tech firms) are ready to pay $500+/ton for early removal credits. Additionally, sectors like beverages and food (>$1B CO₂ market) are seeking non-fossil CO₂ sources for sustainability reasons, which Airhive can tap into. With supportive policies (e.g., UK and EU carbon removal targets, U.S. tax credits) and its pilot success, Airhive could scale rapidly by partnering with industrial gas companies or through franchising its modular design, offering a decentralized solution to climate change that is both impactful and revenue-generating.

Heirloom Carbon

Direct Air Capture (Carbon Mineralization)

Sashank Samala

Founder and CEO

Shashank Samala, Co-Founder and CEO, leads Heirloom in pioneering scalable, cost-effective carbon removal solutions. Under his leadership, Heirloom has secured significant investments, including a recent $150 million Series B round, to scale their technology. Heirloom accelerates natural carbon mineralization, using limestone to capture CO₂ from the air, aiming to remove 1 billion tons by 2035.

  • Carbon Removal (Direct Air Capture via mineralization). Heirloom is a leading climate tech startup that captures CO₂ directly from the atmosphere by accelerating a natural process called carbon mineralization. They speed up the mineral limestone's naturally to absorb CO₂ from air (by turning into bicarbonate) from years down to days, then use a low-energy process to heat the minerals, release the concentrated CO₂ for capture, and recycle the minerals to capture more. This loop can be repeated many times. The captured CO₂ can then be permanently stored or utilized. Heirloom’s approach is more energy-efficient than traditional DAC (which uses liquids or filters) because it exploits the natural affinity of minerals for CO₂. Their goal remove billions of tons of CO₂ annually by deploying modular mineralization facilities.

  • Growth stage (Series B). Heirloom has raised $200M+ in total funding. Most recently it closed a $150M Series B in late 2024 co-led by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital (Chris Sacca) and Future Positive. Earlier, a $53M Series A (led by Carbon Direct and Novo Holdings) was raised in 2022, plus grants from Stripe’s Frontier and others. With the Series B, the company is well-capitalized to scale – it is currently building a commercial pilot plant in California and participating in a U.S. DOE DAC Hub (Project Cypress in Louisiana) aimed at 1Mt/yr removal capacity by 2030. Expect future rounds to be project finance rather than pure equity as they deploy plants, though a Series C could occur if needed to accelerate R&D.

  • Founded in 2020, Heirloom scaled from lab environments to a commercial facility in just over 2 years. In 2023, it began operating a prototype DAC facility in Tracy, CA, which proved the cycle and delivered the world’s first carbon removal via mineral DAC sold to Microsoft. It has since secured purchase agreements for its carbon credits Frontier (Stripe, Shopify) prepaid for tons, and Microsoft signed a deal as noted. In 2023, Heirloom was selected for the DOE DAC Hub, positioning it for significant government cost-share funding. Team has grown to ~100 employees. Additionally, in 2025 United Airlines’ Sustainable Flight Fund invested in Heirloom to forward-purchase CO2 for carbon removal or as a feedstock for SAF. Key metric: Heirloom’s latest tech can capture CO₂ at a cost of around $600/ton, aiming to drop below $100/ton by 2030 with scale. They claim their process uses 50% less energy than conventional DAC due to the passive absorption step.

  • If successful, Heirloom will directly remove CO₂ from air at climate-relevant scales. Each future plant (e.g., 1MtCO₂/yr) negates emissions equivalent to ~215,000 cars’ annual emissions. The technology’s reliance on abundant limestone means it’s highly scalable globally – limestone is cheap and plentiful. Heirloom’s potential to achieve the multi-gigaton scale would be a meaningful fraction of global removal needs. In the near term, their efforts also help drive down the cost of DAC for the entire industry. By creating demand (e.g., through high-profile offtakers like Microsoft and Stripe) and proving viability, they catalyze policy support for carbon removal. Importantly, their method permanently locks CO₂ into mineral form once re-exposed or injected – a very secure storage (over geological timescales). Also, by sourcing low-carbon heat (they are experimenting with electric kilns in partnership with Leilac), they ensure the net removal is high. Each ton Heirloom removes is intended to be net -1 tonatmospheric CO₂ after accounting for energy use, as certified by third-party MRV (Measurement, Reporting, Verification).

  • Heirloom has raised over $200 million. The recent Series B round was co-led by Future Positive and Lowercarbon Capital. The round also included strategic participation from Japan Airlines, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co., MOL Switch LLC, Quantum Innovation Fund, United Airlines, and Siemens Financial Services. Returning investors include top climate and carbon removal backers like Breakthrough Energy Ventures (Bill Gates), Ahren Innovation Capital, Carbon Direct Capital, MCJ Collective, and Lowercarbon Capital. Other backers include Salesforce Ventures, Shopify, Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund (all of whom also are customers). Heirloom is one of the first DAC companies with multi-million-dollar offtake agreements – Microsoft agreed to buy hundreds of tons of carbon removals from Heirloom, and Stripe/Shopify via Frontier advanced funds for future deliveries. United Airlines and Japan Airlines involvement shows cross-industry interest (aviation will need offsets). On the technology side, Heirloom partnered with Leilac (an Australian company) to develop an electric heating kiln which will be key to scaling without fossil fuels. They also collaborate with the University of California on mineral research. These partnerships de-risk both market and technical aspects, making Heirloom a centerpiece of the carbon removal ecosystem.

  • Cost-focus and simplicity. Heirloom’s thesis is that DAC must be ultra-low-cost to make a difference for the climate, and by using cheap, natural minerals instead of expensive synthetic sorbents, they have a path to very low costs at scale. Their process is also modular – using trays of limestone powder – which can be replicated and improved via industrial engineering (similar to cement or steel plants). They claim a clearer trajectory to the <$100/ton target than competitors using high-cost sorbents or energy-intensive solvents. Additionally, being among the first to secure big-name customers (e.g., Microsoft) gives them a demand pipeline and credibility that newcomers lack. They have accumulated one of the largest war chests in DAC, allowing aggressive hiring and R&D. Finally, policy alignment Heirloom’s tech slots well into government programs (utilizing abundant limestone and straightforward carbon storage means it’s region-agnostic and shovel-ready for DOE funding). This synergy with policy and corporate ESG needs sets it apart as a frontrunner in an industry poised to explode.

  • Execution risk remains in scaling from a small pilot to a large-scale facility – managing tons of limestone cycling continuously is essentially a materials handling challenge (dust, abrasion, etc.). There’s also the energy supply question to be carbon-negative, Heirloom must procure clean heat or electricity; ensuring sufficient renewable energy or waste heat is available at project sites is crucial. However, the massive opportunityis that every major company with net-zero goals could be a customer (the carbon credit market for removals is projected to be tens of billions by 2030). As one of very few companies delivering real removal tons today, Heirloom stands to capture outsized market share. Also, scaling manufacturing of kilns and mineral loops could open a new industry – think “carbon removal plants” becoming as common as power plants. The company’s heavy backing and strategic positioning make it likely to be among the first to reach megaton-scale DAC, giving it a prime mover advantage in what could be a multi-trillion-dollar climate remediation sector by mid-century.

Applied Carbon

Biochar Carbon Removal

Jason Aramburu

Co-Founder and CEO

Jason Aramburu, Founder and CEO, is a seasoned entrepreneur recognized by MIT Technology Review and the World Economic Forum for his groundbreaking work in climate tech. He looks forward to collaborating with the cohort to advance scalable carbon removal solutions. Applied Carbon is transforming agriculture and industry with innovative biochar technology that sequesters carbon, improves soil health, and reduces methane emissions.

  • Carbon removal (biochar & agtech). Applied Carbon builds automated machines (“farm robots”) that convert agricultural waste biomass into biochar, sequestering carbon and improving soil health. These machines are essentially mobile pyrolysis units that can be brought directly to farms they heat crop residues (like corn stalks, rice husks) in a low-oxygen chamber, turning the plant carbon into stable biochar (a charcoal-like substance) instead of letting it decompose or burn. The biochar, when added to soils, locks the carbon away for hundreds to thousands of years and also enhances soil fertility by retaining nutrients and water. Applied Carbon’s innovation is making these units small and autonomous enough to move from field to field, operating affordably at the point of waste generation. This avoids costly biomass transport and can run on energy from the crop residues themselves.

  • Early growth (Series A). The company recently raised a $21.5M Series A (mid-2024) led by TO Ventures, with participation from Anglo American, Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, S2G Ventures, Autodesk Foundation, Elemental Excelerator, Grantham Foundation, and others. Prior to that, it won grant awards including a $500k Wilkes Climate Prize and had $4M in seed funding from Congruent Ventures and Susquehanna Foundation. In total, Applied Carbon has raised around $25M+ to date. With the Series A proceeds, it is building a fleet of its biochar machines to be deployed in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana in partnership with large farming operations. These units will generate revenue by selling high-quality carbon removal credits and potentially biochar co-products. The Company has recieved term sheets for $5-$20MM in non-dilutive project and equipment finance to scale it's growth. In parallel, the company is now raising a $5-10MM Series A Extension alongside this project finance facility.

  • Each Applied Carbon pyrolyzer can produce up to 500kg of biochar per hour, capturing ~1 ton of CO₂ equivalent (net) in that biochar. It is towed by a standard tractor and powered partly by the syngas byproduct of pyrolysis. The plan is to deploy 60 machines by 2027 across four states (as mentioned), which would sequester on the order of hundreds of thousands of tons of CO₂ per year collectively. The company has inked a partnership with USDA NRCS, the US agency tasked with soil conservation, to provide crop residue feedstock and land for field trials. It has also secured a multi-million dollar offtake agreement with Microsoft to purchase some of the biochar credits once verified, and with Shopify’s Sustainability Fund for early credit purchases. The Puro.earth registry is working with Applied Carbon to develop a new biochar credit methodology, ensuring the credits are high-quality and tradable. The team is led by CEO Jason Aramburu, an experienced social entrepreneur who researched biochar at Princeton and previously founded a soil analytics startup. Team size ~20, including engineers from agri-machinery companies and soil scientists.

  • Biochar is recognized by the IPCC as a viable carbon removal method. Applied Carbon’s approach could lock away significant carbon while also displacing emissions that would occur if residues were burned or left to rot (which emits CO₂ or methane). Each machine in the field can sequester ~5,000 tons of CO₂ per year (roughly the emissions of 1000 cars) by continuously processing farm waste. Biochar also can reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers by improving soil, which in turn cuts nitrous oxide emissions from fields. If Applied Carbon reaches its goal of hundreds of machines across global farm belts, the climate impact scales for instance, the U.S. generates hundreds of millions of tons of ag waste annually – converting a fraction of that via Applied Carbon could remove on the order of tens of millions of tons of CO₂ per year. Furthermore, by creating a new income stream for farmers (selling carbon credits), it incentivizes sustainable agriculture practices. Importantly, the permanence of biochar is high – carbon is stored in a stable form in soils (some fraction remains for centuries). Thus, credits from Applied Carbon are likely to be viewed as “high durability” removals by offset buyers, aligning with the need for long-term climate benefits.

  • The Series A included heavy hitters TO Ventures led, signaling confidence from large institutional capital. Anglo American’s investment suggests interest in biochar for land reclamation or scope 3 offsets in mining (and indeed Anglo American may use biochar to offset some of its operations’ emissions). Microsoft’s Climate Fund being involved ties to Microsoft’s commitment to carbon removal (they could be a future buyer of credits). S2G (agri-food tech VC) brings deep connections in the farming sector. Partnerships It’s working closely with the University of Texas A&M on soil trials to quantify crop yield benefits from biochar (to help pitch the agronomic value to farmers). It was a part of the Elemental Exceleratorprogram, through which it partnered with growers to test on sugarcane waste. Additionally, the company is in discussions with major grain producers in the Midwest to line up feedstock and land for the next phase of deployments. On the carbon finance side, Applied Carbon is collaborating with Carbonfuture (a platform for biochar credits) to track and sell its credits in the voluntary market once verified. These backers and alliances provide not just funding but validation and channels to scale (farmer networks, credit marketplaces, etc.).

  • Mobile, distributed approach – rather than building one large centralized biochar plant, Applied Carbon’s small-scale units can go wherever the biomass is. This is cost-effective because agricultural residues are bulky and costly to transport; handling them on-site is a big advantage. It also means deployment can be highly modular and fast (mass-produce the units and send them out). The company estimates it can produce biochar at around $39/ton of CO₂ or less at scale, which is competitive for engineered carbon removal. Another differentiator is the automation these robots are designed to run with minimal human oversight (they can be managed by a single operator overseeing multiple units remotely), which lowers operating costs vs. traditional biochar operations. Applied Carbon is also focusing on durability and measurement – by embedding sensors and using data models to ensure each batch of biochar is quantified and stored properly, they aim to make their carbon credits extremely trustworthy, which not all offset projects achieve. Finally, the dual value proposition (carbon credits + soil enhancement) sets it apart they are not just in the carbon business, but also potentially selling or delivering biochar to farms for agronomic use, which could become an additional revenue stream or at least encourage farmers to participate (they get soil benefits).

  • One risk is operational running a fleet of machines on farms means dealing with harsh field conditions, maintenance challenges, and the variability of biomass. Applied Carbon must prove the reliability of its machines and perhaps establish a service model (like how farm equipment dealers support tractors). Another risk verifying carbon storage at scale – they will need robust MRV (Measurement, Reporting, Verification) to satisfy credit buyers that the char stays in the soil and doesn’t get disturbed. However, biochar is relatively easy to track compared to, say, forest offsets. On the opportunity side, the voluntary carbon market is increasingly interested in high-durability removals, and Applied Carbon is positioned to supply that. It already has multiple interested buyers (demand likely outstrips their near-term supply). Moreover, as climate policies evolve, there could be subsidies or carbon price incentives for farmers to char their waste instead of burning (e.g., in California, burning ag waste like rice straw is being regulated – this could push them to adopt solutions like Applied Carbon). The company can also tap into the $200B+ agriculture industry by framing biochar as a service improving yields, drought resilience, and reducing fertilizer costs for farms – these co-benefits can drive adoption even without carbon credit income. If Applied Carbon scales successfully, it not only becomes a profitable enterprise (selling credits perhaps at >$100/ton while driving costs down, capturing a nice margin) but also a decentralized climate solution empowering farmers. In summary, it has the opportunity to turn farms into carbon removal factories at scale, an appealing vision marrying climate action with agricultural sustainability.

WeForest

African Sub-Continent Reforestation Projects

Marie Noëlle Keijzer

Co-Founder and CEO

Marie Noëlle is the co-founder and CEO of WeForest, a non-profit organization dedicated to tackling some of today’s most pressing challenges: global warming, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and poverty. Leading a team of 90 professionals -primarily based in Africa - she has overseen the restoration of more than 71,000 hectares (an area comparable to Singapore) with nearly 100 million trees, transforming the lives of half a million people, creating habitats for endangered species, and positively impacting adjacent landscapes 40 times larger (an area roughly equivalent to Yosemite National Park or 3 million hectares).

  • Forestry / Land Restoration (non-profit). WeForest is an international NGO specializing in large-scale forest landscape restoration to combat global warming and enhance biodiversity. Active since 2010, the organization works with local communities—primarily in Africa, South America, and Asia—to grow and protect forests. Its projects include reforestation of degraded lands, the creation of wildlife corridors, and agroforestry initiatives. WeForest sustains projects throughout their lifecycle—spanning research, risk mitigation, deployment, and long-term maintenance—through a blended funding model that integrates: Corporate Sustainability: Extending beyond traditional value chains. Climate Philanthropy: Supporting pilot initiatives and scaling impact. Innovative Carbon Market Approaches: Developing equitable, community-centered models that ensure long-term viability, secure carbon buyers, and safeguard local stakeholders.

  • Established growth (non-profit, ~15 years of operation). WeForest operates with an annual budget of $10 million, funded by a combination of donations, corporate sponsorships, and carbon investments. Since its inception in 2009, the organization has raised $60 million from over 450 corporate partners and 50 philanthropists and foundations. It is progressing toward a $160 million goal by 2030, aiming to double its current impact.

  • Under the leadership of CEO Marie-Noëlle Keijzer, WeForest employs a team of over 100 staff, primarily field experts. The organization has restored 86,000 hectares and planted over 109 million trees, transforming landscapes across 25 projects in 9 countries. These initiatives support sustainable livelihoods for approximately 600,000 people in underserved areas. Impact is tracked by a dedicated Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) department, which assesses progress against three core indicators: Governance; Trees & Biodiversity (Forestry); People (Livelihoods); Additional project-specific outcomes include improvements in soil quality and water availability. In recognition of its achievements, WeForest received the Mother Teresa Prize for Social Justice in 2021.

  • Forests play a crucial role in climate regulation through both carbon sequestration and water cycle regulation: Carbon Storage: Approximately 50% of a tree’s biomass consists of carbon captured via photosynthesis. Water Cycle Regulation: Evapotranspiration: Trees release water vapor, cooling the surrounding atmosphere. Cloud Formation: Trees emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as sesquiterpenes, which form aerosols that enhance cloud nucleation, solar reflection, and rainfall. Biotic Pump Effect: Forests draw moist air from the oceans and transport it inland, maintaining regional rainfall systems. These mechanisms position forests as powerful climate regulators, potentially delivering greater cooling effects than carbon storage alone. Scaling tropical forest restoration could reduce global temperatures by nearly 1°C. For example, 100 million trees can sequester 11 million tons of CO₂—equivalent to the annual emissions of all cars in London.

  • Extantia and Planet A as lead investors bring a strong network in Europe – Extantia has ties to industrial partners that could host Phlair units. Verve Ventures (also in Turn2X) is a pan-European platform that could help with follow-on funding. On partnerships Phlair announced that Frontier/Shopify will be one of their first paying customers (a prestigious endorsement in the carbon removal community). They also have a collaboration with Siemens Energy on optimizing their electrochemical cells (leveraging Siemens’ expertise in electrolyzers). Another key partner is Climeworks’ former CTO, who is an advisor – helping avoid pitfalls others faced. For deployment, Phlair has lined up two host sites one is an Icelandic partner for CO₂ storage (likely Carbfix) and another is exploring co-location at a biomass power plant to use waste heat (improving efficiency). These partnerships position Phlair to hit the ground running with their pilots and ensure the CO₂ they capture is permanently stored via established channels.

  • Electrochemical DAC (no heat required). Most direct air capture systems use solid sorbents that require thermal desorption (like large ovens) or liquid solvents that need heating and cooling – both are energy-heavy. Phlair’s approach uses electricity directly to do the CO₂ separation via a pH swing, which can be highly efficient and also easier to modulate with renewable power. This gives them a potential cost and simplicity edge, plus easier integration with renewable grids or even future nuclear. They also integrate energy storage in the system, meaning they don’t need expensive external batteries to handle intermittency. Another differentiator is market traction at seed stage having corporate buyers lined up (Shopify, etc.) is unusual and speaks to confidence in their approach and the team. Phlair is also addressing not just carbon removal but also the utilization angle – their captured CO₂ can feed into making carbon-negative fuels or plastics (some of their early customers like Klarna might use removals for claims, but others like Deep Sky plan to utilize CO₂). This versatility could open multiple revenue streams. Additionally, being based in the EU, Phlair can tap into strong public funding (which they did via EIC grant) and a growing EU carbon removal market, potentially positioning them as Europe’s flagship DAC company (complementing U.S. efforts by peers).

  • Technical risk exists in scaling the electrochemical cells and preventing degradation of membranes or electrodes over many cycles. However, this tech builds on known principles (related to flow batteries and electrodialysis) so risk is moderate and mostly engineering. Market risk as more DAC companies emerge, there’s competition for talent and for buyer attention, but the demand far outstrips supply at present. Phlair’s big opportunity is to be among the first to deliver low-cost DAC if their pilots succeed, they could secure substantial offtake agreements (e.g., Frontier could scale up purchases, governments in Europe might contract removals under new carbon removal certification mechanisms). In the policy realm, the EU is formulating a Carbon Removal Certification Framework; Phlair could influence and benefit from that by being a poster child project. Finally, as heavy industries (like aviation) look for offsets, a tech like Phlair’s that can potentially colocate at renewable energy sites worldwide and pull CO₂ from air is very attractive. In sum, Phlair faces the typical startup hurdles of proving and scaling tech, but given its strong seed backing and clear path to market, it has a real chance to seize a leadership role in the DAC industry, providing both a lucrative business model (selling CO₂ removal service) and a critical climate solution.

Phlair

Electrochemical Direct Air Capture

Malte Feucht

Founder and CEO

Phlair (formerly Carbon Atlantis) is redefining Direct Air Capture (DAC) with a scalable, cost-effective technology that removes CO2 from ambient air for permanent storage or reuse in CO2-negative chemicals. Their innovative hydrolyzer for acid/base regeneration enables efficient and affordable DAC processes, addressing critical challenges in industries like aviation and aluminum production. Led by Malte Feucht, Founder and CEO, Phlair helps leading customers such as Shopify and Stripe achieve their net-zero goals.

  • Carbon Removal (Direct Air Capture). Phlair (formerly known as Carbon Atlantis) is developing a next-generation DAC system that uses a unique electrochemical process (a proprietary hydrolyzer) for solvent regeneration. Their technology is an “acid-base” DAC cycle air is passed over an alkaline medium that binds CO₂, then an electrodialysis process (the hydrolyzer) efficiently releases concentrated CO₂ and regenerates the sorbent using electricity. This avoids energy-intensive heating and cooling steps typical in other DAC systems. The result is a modular unit that can capture CO₂ from ambient air at lower cost and energy input than incumbent designs. Phlair’s aim is to enable affordable, scalable DAC for permanent CO₂ removal or reuse in CO₂-negative products (e.g., synthetic fuels).

  • Seed stage. Phlair is a European startup (based in Munich) that recently raised a €14.5 million Seed round (Sept 2024) to accelerate development. The round was led by climate-tech VC Extantia Capital with participation from Planet A Ventures and Verve Ventures, and included a €2.5M EU grant from the EIC Accelerator. This brought Phlair’s total funding to date to around $16M. Prior to this, they had received early backing from Atlantic Labs and Counteract. With the seed funding, Phlair is building its first field pilot units (“Electra 01 and 02”) of 260 tCO₂/year each, slated to operate in 2025. The next funding (Series A) will likely be sought after those pilots to scale up manufacturing and start a ~20,000 tCO₂/yr commercial plant by 2026.

  • Technology proven at lab scale (~10 ton/year prototype). Phlair’s process runs on electricity only, with an integrated energy storage buffer (so it can use intermittent renewable power efficiently). They report that their system will have sub-$100/ton CO₂ long-term costs and plan to be one of the first DAC firms to achieve that threshold. Traction Secured early customers for CO₂ removal – notably Shopify, Stripe (Frontier), Klarna, and Deep Sky have signed on as buyers for Phlair’s captured CO₂ or removal credits. In fact, Frontier (Shopify/Stripe) publicized a purchase from Phlair’s planned pilot output, underscoring confidence in the tech. Phlair is also part of the First Movers Coalition for carbon removal. The team (~20 people) includes experts from Climeworks and the chemical engineering field; CEO Malte Feucht has a background in mechanical engineering and carbon capture. On the IP front, they have filed patents on their electrochemical cell design and specialized membranes.

  • Direct Air Capture is one of the few solutions that can directly reduce atmospheric CO₂ stock. Phlair’s innovation could make DAC economically viable at climate-significant scales. Each of their planned FOAK (first-of-a-kind) plants (260 tCO₂/yr) is small, but the intention is to mass-produce units or scale units to remove tens of thousands of tons per year by the mid-2020s. They have a roadmap to build a >20,000 tCO₂/year plant (“Dawn”) by 2026. As they scale further, Phlair could deploy hundreds of such units, leading to millions of tons per year removed by 2030. Because their captured CO₂ can be either stored geologically or converted into products, there’s flexibility some CO₂ is sold for use in CO₂-negative chemicals and materials (meaning it eventually still stays out of the air). Importantly, their focus on driving down cost is an impact multiplier – achieving <$100/ton would allow carbon removal to be done at the scale needed (billions of tons) in a cost-effective manner. Additionally, their operations will likely be powered by renewable energy, ensuring the net CO₂ removal is high. If Phlair’s technology becomes widespread, it could help neutralize emissions from sectors that are hard to decarbonize directly (by removing residual emissions) and thus is a key piece in reaching global net-zero.

  • Backed by high-profile climate VCs (Khosla, Breakthrough) which signals strong confidence. Also supported by Greentown Labs Houston. The U.S. DOE and Office of Energy Efficiency are effectively partners via funding – Hertha is a key part of the DOE’s strategy to decarbonize heavy industry.

  • Ability to use any iron ore feedstock (including ore fines and rust/scale) is a huge advantage – competitors like direct hydrogen reduction require high-grade pellets. Additionally, Hertha Metals technology can produce cost-competitive steel with lower emissions using today’s abundant natural gas resources while being hydrogen-ready as the clean hydrogen economy continues to develop. Hertha can thus tap cheaper and abundant resources, lowering cost. Its process is also intended to retrofit into existing steel industry, making adoption easier. The speed of execution is noteworthy - Hertha prides itself on rapid prototyping, having gone from concept to operating a pilot in roughly a year, reflecting an execution-focused culture. Finally, the team’s deep domain expertise (PhDs in metallurgy, ex-rocket engineers, etc.) and patent portfolio (17 patents and peer-reviewed publications by founder) create a defensible tech moat and credibility in an industry that is typically skeptical of newcomers.

  • Technical scale-up is the main risk – while Hertha Metals is successfully operating the largest new steelmaking pilot plant in north America, an additional 1600X scaleup is necessary to match production volumes of the steel industry. There is also competition from other green steel approaches (e.g. Boston Metal’s molten oxide electrolysis, or hydrogen DRI projects in Europe), although the market is so vast that multiple winners can coexist. Hertha must ensure its process is cost-competitive with conventional steel, and does this by being able to use natural gas as a reductant until hydrogen prices decline. On the opportunity side, demand for green steel is enormous – automakers, construction firms, and governments are starting to prefer low-carbon steel, and there’s far more demand than current supply. This opens potential for offtake agreements or pre-orders of Hertha’s output. Additionally, heavy industry players may prefer to acquire or license Hertha’s tech rather than develop their own, presenting an attractive exit optionality. If Hertha Metals can prove its demonstration plant by 2027, it stands to become a cornerstone of the net-zero materials economy, scaling to capture a share of the $1+ trillion steel market transitioning to green methods.

Upwell Materials

Blue Biotech (Algae-Based Ingredients)

Daniella Zakon

Founder and CEO

Daniella Zakon is the Founder and CEO of Upwell Materials, a biomaterials company based in Woods Hole, MA. Daniella earned her B.S degree in marine ecology after studying the impacts of rising CO2 on coral reefs in Thailand and Malaysia. She went on to receive her master's degree in environmental studies and business management while living and working in the Middle East. She has worked in green tech, sustainable fashion, clean cosmetics, micro-algae and more.

  • Sustainable biomaterials for cosmetics and personal care. Upwell has invented the world’s first algae-derived cosmetic wax, a renewable alternative to petroleum-based and animal-derived waxes. Derived from a microalgae strain (T. isochrysis), the wax (and an “algae butter” variant) can replace ingredients like beeswax and silicones in products such as sunscreen, lip balm, and lotions. The ingredients are carbon-negative, reef-safe (critical for sunscreens), and vegan.

  • Pre-seed/Seed stage. Upwell was founded ~2020 and secured technology licenses from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Western Washington University for the core algae wax patents. It has since raised initial funding from angel investors. Currently Upwell has raised $1.7 million in a discounted SAFE round. It is now likely seeking a larger Seed or Series A round to scale production and fulfill pilot orders with cosmetics brands.

  • Developed a lab-scale production process for algae wax and successfully demonstrated it boosts SPF and formulation quality in reef-safe sunscreens. Signed a license agreement with WHOI/WWU (co-owners of the IP) to commercialize the tech. Small batch samples have been delivered to prospective B2B customers; Upwell reports a global pipeline of cosmetics manufacturers interested in “blue beauty” ingredients. Team of ~4 (founders Daniella Zakon and Alexandra Lari bring backgrounds in marine science and luxury beauty marketing, respectively).

  • The microalgae feedstock is grown in bioreactors using sunlight and CO₂, making the product carbon-negative (algae fix more CO₂ than emitted in processing). Each ton of algae wax could sequester roughly 2–3 tons of CO₂ equivalent. By replacing petrochemicals, Upwell’s ingredients also avoid the downstream emissions and pollution from petroleum extraction and refining. Additionally, reef-safe sunscreens protect marine ecosystems from chemical damage. While current volumes are small, scaling algae production can contribute to carbon drawdown and reduce the cosmetics industry’s reliance on fossil-derived inputs.

  • Upwell received exclusive rights to the patents from WHOI and WWU for the algae wax. Upwell has developed its own additional suite of ingredients from algae including humectants for moisturizing, omega oil with anti oxidant and blue light protecting abilities and a butter that provides structure and active properties. Upwell's ingredients are currently being tested and reviewed by two leading conglomerates in the cosmetic space. Pilot project with at least two indie cosmetics brands to incorporate algae wax in upcoming product lines including one making medical grade clean sunscreen. Upwell has been invited to present at the cosmetic and lipids international conference in Bordeaux, BioMarine's event hosted by Prince Albert of Monaco to speak on biomaterials and to the World Economic Forum. Upwell has appeared in a number of publications including Vogue business for ocean day and been featured in ocean invest networks such as the OnlyOne Collective (an ocean-focused impact network) – Upwell was featured in their blue economy podcast.

  • Patented algae-to-wax technology exclusively licensed to Upwell, creating a high barrier to entry. The product hits a timely market need regulators and consumers are pushing for reef-safe, sustainable cosmetics, and brands have few viable alternatives to petro-waxes. Upwell’s wax and other ingredients not only replaces harmful ingredients but can improve product performance (e.g., it naturally boosts SPF in sunscreen). The founders’ mix of deep science (marine biology) and industry know-how (beauty branding) gives Upwell an edge in both innovation and go-to-market in the cosmetics space.

  • As a materials startup, scaling from lab to commercial production is a challenge – Upwell is currently proving reproducibility at commercial scale with its manufacturing partners and algae suppliers. Regulatory approval for cosmetics use is largely de-risked (ingredients from algae are generally safe), but manufacturing cost must be competitive with incumbent waxes. The opportunity is sizable the global personal care ingredients market is billions of dollars, and “blue beauty” is a fast-growing segment. Large cosmetics corporates are actively seeking sustainable inputs, which could lead to joint development or acquisition. Execution risk lies in manufacturing scale-up and supply chain (cultivating enough algae feedstock). If Upwell can secure scale production (potentially through contract manufacturers or a strategic partnership), which Upwell has been solidifying for the past 3 years. It stands to become a key supplier of eco-friendly ingredients in a market eager for innovation.

S3 Markets

Low-Carbon Commodities Marketplace

Saman Baghestani

Co-Founder and CEO

Saman is the Co-Founder and CEO of S3 Markets, driving the adoption of low-carbon commodities in hard-to-abate sectors like cement, steel, and ammonia through a book-and-claim system, helping organizations credibly reduce Scope 3 emissions and advancing progress towards global net zero. Saman is passionate about leveraging his background in climate and finance to unlock financial support for radically decarbonized commodity producers in an effort to tip commodity markets towards low carbon modes of production.

An MIT graduate with climate and sustainability expertise, Saman co-founded SHIFT, a tool search engine for corporate sustainability, developed technology for the UN Global Compact resource library, and led the 2024 MIT Sustainability Summit on systems change for planetary wellbeing.

  • Climate fintech / carbon markets. S3 Markets is building a book-and-claim platform for low-carbon commodities (like green steel, cement, and ammonia). In sectors where fully tracking physical low-carbon material through the supply chain is difficult, S3 provides a digital marketplace where producers of truly low-carbon commodities can sell certificates of their products’ environmental attributes to buyers who need to offset or reduce their Scope 3 emissions. For example, a construction firm can buy “green steel credits” from a mill that made steel with 80% lower CO₂, thus funding the mill’s decarbonization and claiming those reductions, even if the physical steel they use isn’t from that mill. This system accelerates adoption of cleaner production by rewarding it financially, using a trusted, transparent ledger (likely blockchain-based) to prevent double counting.

  • Seed stage (pre-revenue). S3 was founded in 2023 by climate and finance professionals (CEO Saman Baghestani is an MIT grad with sustainability and fintech expertise). It is currently in private beta with a few pilot transactions and has not publicly announced funding – likely bootstrapped with angel investment. It did gain recognition through accelerators (the MIT 100K, Plug & Play) and is in discussions with venture funds specialized in carbon markets. The immediate focus is launching the platform with initial users rather than large capital needs. A seed round in the $1–2M range is conceivable to build out the tech and get regulatory/legal frameworks in place for the trading mechanism.

  • Platform development ~90% complete; S3 has signed up three pilot partners a green cement manufacturer, a renewable ammonia producer, and a major construction company. The first pilot trade (expected Q2 2025) will involve the cement maker issuing certificates for X tons of cement produced at 90% lower CO₂ than baseline, and the corporate partner purchasing those to offset emissions from conventional cement they use. This will test the accounting and verification process. No revenue yet; the business model will take a transaction fee on each trade. The concept has garnered interest – S3’s team has pitched to over 20 industrial firms and consistently heard that a Scope 3 solution like this is needed to meet net-zero goals. On the team side, they have 4 FTEs, including a blockchain developer and an ex-commodities trader. S3 has also been mentioned in an Ivey Business Journal piece as a promising innovation in net-zero markets.

  • Potentially very high. By monetizing the emissions reductions of low-carbon commodity producers, S3 can channel significant funds to those green producers, helping them scale up and undercut high-carbon incumbents. This market mechanism could drive emissions out of hard-to-abate sectors much faster than waiting for full supply chain overhaul. For example, if a steel mill installs carbon capture and reduces CO₂ per ton by 90%, S3 would enable them to sell that 90% reduction as credits to buyers who cannot yet procure green steel physically. This could effectively eliminate Scope 3 emissions for buyers, while funding the cleaner mill. S3 claims such systems can drive up to 100% emissions reduction in these commodity supply chains when broadly adopted. Essentially, S3 is creating a credible insetting system for industrial emissions, which if scaled across cement (~8% of global CO₂), steel (~9%), etc., could facilitate hundreds of millions of tons of emissions reduction by 2030. It’s not removing CO₂ directly, but enabling reductions that would not otherwise happen due to supply chain inertia.

  • Still early – however, S3 Markets has strong academic and industry support. It was highlighted by Techstars Sustainability and is partnering with MIT Sustainability Initiative to convene a high-level gathering during NY Climate Week (MIT Sustainability Initiative is conducting research on climate finance and the role of voluntary markets). Its pilot partners include a North American green ammonia startup and a North American cement company (names confidential but both are innovators in their fields). Additionally, big 4 accounting firms have informally partnered to ensure the book-and-claim accounting aligns with GHG Protocol standards – this will be crucial for corporates to actually claim the reductions. Getting those endorsements is a de facto partnership that lends credibility.

  • Few players are addressing Scope 3 emissions in hard industries with this book-and-claim approach. S3’s platform emphasizes trust and verification every credit is linked to a specific batch of production data (IoT or audit inputs) and is transparently recorded, making it harder to greenwash. Unlike generic carbon offsets, these credits are directly tied to commodity production (tangible and easy to understand for businesses). S3 is also positioning itself as agnostic among commodities – by covering steel, cement, chemicals under one roof, it can provide a one-stop shop for companies to clean up their entire supply chain footprint. This breadth is a differentiator versus niche platforms (e.g., one might only do sustainable aviation fuel credits). The founding team’s mix of climate policy knowledge and finance means they design the marketplace in compliance with emerging regulations (EU is working on rules for “Carbon Removal and Transfer” certificates, which S3 is anticipating).

  • The concept of book-and-claim for emissions is new and could face skepticism or regulatory hurdles. Ensuring no double counting (so that the physical product’s buyer doesn’t claim reductions if the certificate is sold elsewhere) will require clear standards and perhaps third-party oversight. If not done right, credits could be seen as greenwashing. However, S3 is building in accordance with the forthcoming ISO standards for carbon attribute tracking, aiming to mitigate this. The opportunity is massive corporations are desperate for credible Scope 3 solutions. As ESG pressure mounts, S3 could become a high-volume marketplace, essentially a new category of environmental commodity (like RECs but for industrial materials). If they can secure a critical mass of both producers and buyers in one sector (say cement), network effects could make S3 the default platform across industries. They could also partner with exchanges or consortiums (maybe WBCSD or First Movers Coalition) to scale user acquisition. In summary, S3 Markets is a high-risk/high-reward bet – if successful, it unlocks decarbonization in trillion-dollar supply chains, but it must gain trust and standardization to win adoption. For a family office, supporting S3 is a chance to catalyze systemic emissions reductions in heavy industry while potentially gaining upside as the company creates an entirely new tradable market.

Seafields

Ocean Carbon Removal via Seaweed

John Auckland

Founder and CEO

John Auckland has founded Seafields to pioneer a new approach to fighting climate change by introducing aquaculture to the open ocean using a little-known wonder crop, the brown seaweed, Sargassum. He also founded TribeFirst, the leading global equity crowdfunding marketing agency that's helped more than 120 companies launch their brands and raise their money at the same time. Co-Founded GreenTribe, a pre-seed and seed stage impact investment fund. Also Co-Founder of JustCarbon, which is using Web3 technology to improve the carbon credit certification industry.

  • Carbon dioxide removal (ocean-based). Seafields is developing a pioneering solution to farm floating Sargassum seaweed at a massive scale in the ocean, in areas that make up half the planet’s surface and yet are currently only populated with floating garbage. As a species we need to work out how to grow significantly more plants for very low cost, either for increased food security, to replace oil as the dominate feedstock in most of our industries, or to store more carbon in living biomass. Sargassum is the perfect crop to achieve all these aims because it needs very few nutrients and infrastructure to grow and it can be farmed in the subtropical gyres, whirlpool-like currents that exist in each of the major oceans and that currently just trap floating garbage. Seafields is the first company to domesticate floating Sargassum seaweed in our proprietary Algaeponix paddocks. and is operating in the Caribbean as a stepping stone to the open ocean.

  • Early-stage (Seed). Founded in 2021 in the UK, Seafields has raised ~$2.5M in seed funding so far, including a £250k Innovate UK grant, investment from TechNation’s Sustainable Futures program, and angel funding (notably from Elbow Beach Capital). It also ran a small crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube in 2023, eventually raising $1m on an initial $400k target (indicating good public interest). Recently, it secured an Innovate UK EDGE grant to conduct more R&D on farming techniques. Seafields is currently closing a $4m Late Seed funding round with $1.4m already raised.

  • Seafields is the first and only company to have successfully domesticated Sargassum, demonstrating positive growth rates of Sargassum held within our AlgaePonix paddocks, at the same time quantifying the biodiversity enhancement that our paddocks provide. Seafields won the SeedLegals 2024 Start Up of the Year – this meant Seafields was the top performing startup of all the 2024 finalists. Seafields was also one of the 9 runners up teams for the XPRIZECarbonRemoval finals – we were in the Top 29 teams out of 1,300 teams, across 88 countries. Lastly, Seafields won an Innovate UK award for ocean innovation in 2022 and has been featured by the World Economic Forum’s Uplink as a top ocean-based climate solution. Seafields was also selected by Coldplay as one of their 15 Good Causes, and has been profiled at every one of their Music of the Spheres world tour concerts.

  • The climate impact of our solution is threefold: it avoids the decomposition of seaweed and subsequent release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas; it displaces traditional fossil fuel feedstocks; and long-life Sargassum products can durably lock away the carbon stored in the biomass. The world urgently needs alternatives to fossil-based raw materials and Seafields can deliver that by providing a consistent, renewable feedstock to industrial partners who develop biomaterials like biofuels, bioplastics, and biochar. By replacing petroleum-based inputs, we accelerate the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy. The carbon removal achieved by Sargassum based products, especially biochar when used as a construction material, has a permanence of geological timescales. The overall vision is enormous: Seafields has stated ambitions of eventually mitigating 1 gigatonne of CO₂ per year by farming around 60,000 km² of Sargassum.

  • Early backing from climate-tech investors like Elbow Beach Capital (impact VC) and notable angel investors such as Mark Kozubal (Founder of Nature’s Fund), Martin Hay (exited carbon markets investor), and Katie Gaynor (Director of ESG, BNP Paribas). We have won prestigious grant funding from both the UK and German governments. Through that, we have an ongoing collaboration with Innovate UK and UK government bodies interested in carbon removal. On the international front, we are connected with the ClimateWorks Foundation’s ocean carbon initiative and are part of Ocean Visions’ Launchpad for ocean CDR startups. We were selected by Coldplay as one of their 15 ‘Good Causes’, benefiting from their initiative to donate 10% of all earnings (touring, records, publishing, etc.) to support environmental projects. In terms of commercialization partners we have collaborations with Carbonwave, who produce Sargassum based products, in particular biostimulants; and MacroCarbon, who are similarly researching and developing Sargassum based products, focussing on biopolymers – Seafields has licenced its proprietary paddock design to MacroCarbon.

  • Seafields is the first and only company to have successfully domesticated and cultivated floating Sargassum. Therefore, we have the only solution to provide industrial partners and clients with a stable, year-round feedstock of Sargassum. Our solution can deliver truly large-scale carbon removal – few other ocean-based climate solutions can claim gigatonne potential. By using Sargassum, a problematic seaweed in the Caribbean, we are turning an environmental and economic cost into an enormous climate opportunity. By managing and cultivating seaweed, we are creating a consistent, fresh feedstock from which the Sargassum product value chain can scale. The combination of engineering (for farming infrastructure) and biology gives us a multidisciplinary edge. Additionally, by aiming to generate sellable carbon credits, alongside biomass feedstock and biostimulant sales, we are creating multiple revenue streams, which reduces risk to scaling. Being one of the first movers in ocean CDR, Seafields is helping to set industry standards and can navigate the regulatory landscape ahead of would-be competitors.

  • A significant challenge for scaling our solution across the Caribbean is the complexity created by deploying in numerous different geographical jurisdictions, each with its own distinct governance and regulations. This poses significant complexity to developing a regionwide operation. Prudently, our directors have previous experience in scaling Caribbean telecommunications businesses and, accordingly, we are confident we can overcome this barrier. Additionally, we have already developed networks in many Caribbean territories to help facilitate a successful regionwide roll-out. The speed at which we can scale is also highly dependent on the supply chains for the materials and machinery we require, many of which need to be imported into the region from North America/Europe. We are already in contact with suppliers regarding the industrial-scale production of our aquafarms, and for the necessary machinery there are multiple potential suppliers, which increases our ability to scale at pace. Nonetheless, the overall opportunity remains huge. Unlike land-based biomass projects, ocean farms do not compete with food production and can scale without land constraints. If successfully realised, Seafields’ approach could be one of the most scalable carbon removal methods, tapping the vast surface and potential of the oceans.