InterEarth, a startup that removes carbon from the atmosphere using photosynthesis, has raised $500,000 from buy-now-pay-later fintech Klarna.
The startup removes carbon from ambient air by growing trees, harvesting their biomass, and then putting the CO2 back underground with the low-tech method of using a vault covered with clay.
This novel kind of CO2 containment is decay-resistant and needs little space. According to InterEarth, one hectare of underground storage is enough to store 2500 hectares of trees.
InterEarth’s approach to CO2 removal was noticed by carbon removal expert Robert Höglund, who introduced the startup’s CEO Howard Carr to Klarna, Smart Company wrote.
Relevant: Milkywire Adds Spotify And Klarna To Its Climate Transformation Fund
“Our relationship with Klarna flourished from there and we were fortunate enough to be awarded an investment of over $500,000 last year via its Climate Transformation Fund (CTF) to help fund our trials,” Carr told Smart Company. The investment provides crucial early-stage financial and business support, he also said.
InterEarth is based in Australia and plans to apply its solution there first, before going international. The startup partners with venture capital fund Counteract and Puro Earth, a crediting platform for engineered CO2 removal.
Sweden-headquartered Klarna is a leading global payment and shopping service that aims to disrupt online shopping. The company’s sustainability goals include removing 11,587 metric tons of CO2 equivalent by the end of the decade. Klarna aims to operate at net zero by 2040.
Read more: Living Carbon Raises $21M To Plant 4M Fast-growing Trees In The US
