The carbon capture utilization and storage sector was provided with a sizable boost this week. The carbon conversion technology startup Air Company managed to raise $30 million in Series A funding.
The funding round was led by the investment management company Carbon Direct Capital Management that will join the Air Company board. Other participants were Toyota Ventures, JetBlue Technology Ventures, and Parley for the Oceans.
Relevant: 3 Most Unusual Ways Companies Use To Sequester CO2 From The Air
The raised capital will be spent on scaling the company’s consumer products made out of air, in order to meet increasing demand while also setting the foundation for its expansion into the industrial and aerospace sectors.
Back in 2020, the company announced it has invented a way to make renewable fuel from carbon dioxide in an effort to aid space exploration efforts. Since the growing spaceflight industry is hard to decarbonize, Air Company’s fuel that utilizes CO2 industrial emissions will aim to reduce the carbon footprint of space exploration and make it more sustainable.
The startup also launched several products made from captured CO2. It made a new type of vodka from impurity-free ethyl alcohol made from emissions that replace traditional ingredients of rye and yeast. It is also currently producing carbon-converted Air Spray hand sanitizer and Air Eau de Parfum.
The carbon capture and utilization space is attracting attention from investors as companies developing the technology are offering increasingly valuable solutions to making additional revenue streams from excess emissions. It is also setting inspiration for innovators willing to solve the climate change crisis.
