Climate tech company Origen announced that it has successfully closed a Series A funding round, securing $13 million that will enable the scale-up of its innovative limestone-based direct air capture (DAC) technology.
The round was led by Barclays Climate Ventures, with participation from Shell Ventures, Exascale Fund, Elemental Impact, and Hatch.
With this financial injection, Origen will power and scale its commercial carbon removal projects, funneling parts of the resources into additional tests at its technology and research center in Bristol.
Leveraging the naturally occurring chemistry in limestone, an abundant and easy-to-source material, Origen has developed a carbon solution that durably removes CO2 from the atmosphere.
The company’s decarbonization approach includes separating the CO2 from the limestone rock and storing it underground to create the mineral lime.
Once the lime is formed, it proceeds to effectively sequester atmospheric carbon via a naturally occurring and passive process.
Origen’s fuel-flexible technology utilizes proprietary systems across the entire value stack, including the kiln, lime preparation, and air contactor.
Ben Riddle-Turner, CEO at Origen, commented on this process, “Efficiently enabled by the technology we have developed at Origen, limestone can act as a natural sponge for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.”
Relevant: Origen Partners With EERC To Speed Up DAC Tech Commercialization
Noting that sourcing funds is the biggest challenge the company needs to address on its path towards scaling operations, he goes on to add, “This funding gives us the runway we need to streamline our process and reduce costs to deliver the carbon reductions that our planet needs.”
Origen has been making steady strides in the carbon removal space, recently announcing a partnership with the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC). This collaboration will employ Origen’s technology to capture 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually at a facility under construction in North Dakota.
The company has also signed a partnership with Shell and Mitsubishi, agreeing to launch development on the Pelican Gulf Coast Carbon Removal Direct Air Capture project, expected to remove up to 50,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, generating up to $3 million in advanced carbon removal credits.
Read more: Origen, Shell & Mitsubishi To Launch Pelican Gulf Coast DAC Project
