Israeli carbon removal startup RepAir has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round in an aim to reduce the energy intensiveness of direct air capture (DAC).
The funding round was led by Extantia Capital and featured investments from Zero Carbon Capital, as well as major oil and gas corporations, such as Shell and Equinor.
Energy efficiency has been one of the major hurdles that DAC technology faces on the road to scalability.
RepAir Carbon Capture claims to have developed a solution for this problem in the form of scalable, energy efficient carbon removal via DAC.
Namely, the Israeli startup says that its technology is 70% more energy efficient than what is considered average in the sector, mainly due to the fact that it operates at ambient temperature and is powered exclusively by renewables.
Relevant: RepAir Carbon To Use Fuel Cell Tech For Direct Air Capture
Thus, RepAir estimates that its electrochemical DAC can bring down the price tag of carbon removal from the atmosphere to only $70 per ton, whereas $100 is widely considered to be the target mark in order to achieve economic viability.
Hence, this potentially puts the startup’s solution at the forefront of cost-effective climate solutions that can be scaled.
In addition to being cheaper to operate, the modular nature of RepAir Carbon Capture’s DAC solution also adds to the technology’s scalability.
Relevant: Climeworks To Achieve Multi-Megaton Carbon Removal Capacity By 2040
Amir Shiner, CEO and Co-Founder of RepAir Carbon Capture, acknowledged the challenges of costs and energy efficiency that are in the way of unlocking what he says is a ‘trillion-dollar market opportunity by 2050’.
However, Shiner believes that RepAir may be among the few capable of overcoming those challenges and possibly becoming a leader in the space of direct air capture.
“This investment round, from some of the leading names driving the climate tech revolution, is a testament to our capabilities and the enormous business potential and good they can achieve,” he said.
