AirMiners – a community for startups and engineers in the carbon removal space – has introduced its pilot Kiloton Fund, which will serve as a testing ground for its Megaton Fund.
A diverse and dedicated group of investors has collectively invested $250,000 in purchasing discounted CO2 credits from startups, which has contributed to the early success of the Kiloton Fund. By adopting this approach, the startups receive instant revenue that supports their operations, while simultaneously offering investors an opportunity to sell the credits at full price in the future.
“We believe the Kiloton Fund demonstrates how funds are the catalysts we need to advance the pace of carbon removal,” said AirMiners CEO Tito Jankowski. In the past two years, 95 startups have graduated from the organization’s CO2 removal startup accelerator and have raised $90 million of venture and grant funding, he also said. “Our deep experience in this sector revealed a funding gap,” Jankowski added. “This insight led us to pilot the Kiloton Fund to close that funding gap for carbon removal startups.”
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According to Bill Gross, founder of Idealab and CO2 removal startup Carbon Capture, the pilot fund will be a “game-changer” as it will allow starting companies and investors to align their interests in scaling CO2 removal at a gigaton scale. Startups will secure much-needed early revenue, and investors will be able to participate in the development of a trillion-dollar industry, he also said.
Carbon purchaser and, also commented on the potential impact of the fund. “By working to bridge the funding gap, the Kiloton Fund experiment has great potential to accelerate the commercialization of carbon removal technologies, while also bearing significant implications for their development and advancement,” she said.
By bridging the funding gap in carbon removal, the Kiloton Fund will speed up the commercialization, development and advancement of the technology, said Stacy Kauk, head of Sustainability at Shopify.
Read more: AirMiners Launchpad Pre-Accelerator Closes Applications September 30th
