Nature-based carbon removal company Chestnut Carbon has successfully secured $160 million in Series B funding to expand its afforestation operations.
The funding round saw participation from previous investor Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, along with new supporters, including Cloverlay and DBL Partners.
Chestnut Carbon also received additional backing from the limited partners of its founding firm, Kimmeridge, including university endowments, family offices, funds of funds, and other institutional investors.
Founded in 2022, Chestnut is focused on developing new forests on marginal crop and pasture lands in the United States, led by a vision of creating long-lasting ecosystems that introduce meaningful co-benefits.
Through its Sustainable Restoration Project, Chestnut also generates carbon removal credits, which are verified against the Gold Standard®.
Earlier this year, Chestnut signed one of the largest afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) deals in the United States with tech giant Microsoft, agreeing to deliver a striking 7 million tons of carbon removal credits over the following 25 years.
The company will utilize the recently acquired funding to grow its Sustainable Restoration Project to an estimated capture capacity of 100 million tons of carbon over the life of the whole project.
The funding will also serve for buying more land for the project, expanding the current coverage of over 35,000 total acres of underutilized agricultural and pastureland, located in Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Relevant: Microsoft Extends Collaboration With Chestnut With New 7M Tons Of CDR
Additionally, Chestnut will invest in technology innovation, which will enable it to maintain its high standards of data accuracy while operating with low costs.
On its expansion journey, the company will also allocate means for recruiting new professionals and experts for its team, whose talent and know-how will power the company’s growth in alignment with its high-quality standards.
Ben Dell, CEO of Chestnut and Founder and Managing Partner of Kimmeridge, commented, “The Series B financing allows us to continue to build out our platform to meet the growing needs of sustainability-conscious organizations and advance our position as a leading provider in the international carbon markets.”
Read more: Chestnut Carbon Completes Phase 2 Of The US’ Largest Afforestation Project
