Carbon removal data and due diligence platform CUR8 has secured a strategic investment from Acario Innovation, the corporate venture arm of Tokyo Gas, Japan’s largest city gas supplier and a diversified electric utility.
The investment will support the expansion of CUR8’s risk and data infrastructure and its work in enabling commercial-scale debt financing for carbon removal projects. The company said the funding reflects growing demand for scientific modelling and risk assessment as the carbon removal market shifts from pilot projects to larger portfolios. The sector tripled in size last year, with spending exceeding $11 billion.
CUR8 operates a data platform designed to support the purchasing, financing and delivery of carbon removals. Its due diligence framework assesses projects across more than 100 data points and includes ongoing risk monitoring. The company states that its data is used by financial institutions including Standard Chartered and corporates such as British Airways.
Policy developments in Asia, the EU and the UK are incorporating carbon removals into compliance and trading systems. Japan is set to integrate durable carbon removal into the compliance phase of its national emissions trading scheme (GX-ETS) from April 2026, following an initial voluntary phase. Large emitters, including utilities and industrial companies, will require verified assessments of removal credits under the scheme.
Tokyo Gas has set a target of contributing 17 million tonnes of CO₂ reductions by 2030 under its Compass 2030 plan, as part of its pathway to net zero by 2050.
Marta Krupinska, CEO and co-founder of CUR8, said: “To scale carbon removal to gigatonne levels, we need to move beyond early-stage equity and unlock commercial scale debt. That requires rigorous, reliable data. This investment validates our approach to building the risk infrastructure that allows capital to flow securely to the most promising removal technologies.”
Kenji Maeda, CEO of Acario Innovation, said: “As the energy transition accelerates, the ability to accurately assess technical and delivery risk across a wide array of carbon removal technologies is becoming a competitive advantage. CUR8’s due diligence engine provides the clarity that financial markets have been waiting for.”
The investment follows previous funding rounds backed by Google Ventures and Airbus Ventures.
