Deep tech science and data company Alt Carbon announced that it has secured $12 million in seed funding to scale its enhanced rock weathering operations in South Asia.
The funding round was led by Lachy Groom and saw participation from previous Alt Carbon investors.
This financial boost will enable Alt Carbon to advance the development of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) in the Global South, underscoring India’s potential for becoming a leading global decarbonization hub.
Specifically, this funding will unlock an expansion of research and development in Earth Sciences, and it will fuel the creation of hardware innovations, paving the way for a scale-up of Alt Carbon’s India-based operations.
Set on a mission to remove 5 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030, Alt Carbon is actively working on deploying enhanced rock weathering in an effort to tackle atmospheric carbon dioxide.
The company sources waste basalt rock dust from mines that gets spread on agricultural land, where it absorbs atmospheric CO2 through a natural process triggered by rainwater that enables the carbon dioxide to get locked in the soil in the form of stable bicarbonate ions.
These ions will eventually make their way to the ocean, where they will remain sequestered for over 10,000 years.
Alt Carbon’s science-driven approach to carbon removal has attracted the attention of many industry players.
In the past two months, the company entered into climate collaboration partnerships with Mitsubishi Corporation and MOL Group, strengthening an emerging Japan-India business corridor.
Relevant: Mitsubishi Corporation And Alt Carbon To Scale ERW Carbon Removal In South Asia
Last year, Alt Carbon was selected as a carbon removal provider for the Frontier coalition, and the company’s portfolio also includes an offtake agreement with South Pole & Mitsubishi-led NextGen.
In its flagship initiative called The Darjeeling Revival Project (DRP), Alt Carbon combines carbon removal with cultural and ecological restoration that preserves Darjeeling’s tea, regarded as India’s most valued export product.
Through this initiative, Alt Carbon aims to protect and revive the tea gardens of Darjeeling, a region heavily impacted by climate change, all while boosting the crop yields for local farmers and landowners and providing job opportunities for the people based in this area.
Read more: Mati Carbon To Scale ERW Globally With Innovative J.P. Morgan Funding
