Graphyte, a Bill Gates-backed startup, has secured $30 million in Series A funding, which will be used to advance its innovative carbon dioxide removal technology and expand its operations. The financing round was co-led by Prelude Ventures and Carbon Direct Capital, with notable contributions from existing investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) and Overture.
Graphyte’s Carbon Casting technology sequesters carbon-containing biomass waste underground, providing a more energy-efficient alternative to other carbon removal methods. This approach enables Graphyte to offer cost-effective carbon removals to buyers and contribute to climate change mitigation. The company has launched its Loblolly project in Arkansas, which is expected to achieve a capacity of 50,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide removal per year (tCO2/year) by early 2025.
The Series A funding will accelerate the deployment of Graphyte’s technology, facilitating the establishment of four additional carbon removal facilities in 2025 and 2026. The company aims to scale up its operations to remove over 5 million tCO2/year by 2030.
Barclay Rogers, CEO of Graphyte said, “Graphyte aims to be the largest durable carbon dioxide removal supplier in the world. We are thrilled to work with an amazing set of leading climate investors to start bringing durable carbon removals to scale using our proprietary Carbon Casting process.”
“As global CO2 emissions continue to rise, it is now undeniable that carbon removal is vital in mitigating the worst impacts of climate change and we need more rapidly scalable, affordable solutions,” said Carmichael Roberts, Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
“Carbon removal must scale as quickly as possible to make a climate impact and buyers are ready for solutions with high permanence and strong MRV. Graphyte’s solution is among the most promising for rapidly deploying durable carbon removal at a massive scale,” said Matt Eggers, managing director at Prelude Ventures.
“Getting to 50,000 tonnes of annualised removal capacity so quickly speaks to both the scalability and cost competitiveness of Graphyte’s carbon removal technology,” said Mayank Kapoor, Principal at Carbon Direct Capital.