London-based carbon removal startup UNDO has raised secured £9.6 million ($11.93 million) in funding for its enhanced rock weathering technology.
The funding includes $11.93 million in a new funding round led by Lowercarbon Capital and AENU and an additional £800,000 ($994,328) renewal funding from Stripe.
The company will use the investment to scale up its carbon removal technology of spreading volcanic rock dust on farms to store carbon in the soil in Scotland.
Enhanced rock weathering is a process that aims to speed up natural rock weathering. When carbon in rainwater interacts with silicate rocks such as basalt, it mineralizes and is permanently stored as solid CO2.
Read more: UNDO Is Helping Individuals Reduce Their Carbon Footprint
UNDO spreads crushed basalt, which is a by-product of the mining and quarrying sector, on agricultural soil.
As the basalt rock breaks down, it releases nutrients such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus, which increase the crop yield, while raising and stabilizing the soil pH and reducing the need for fertilizers.
In order to reach net zero emissions by mid-century, the world needs to remove at least 10 gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere annually, said Jim Mann, co-founder, and CEO at UNDO. According to him, enhanced rock weathering is among the most robust climate tech solutions nowadays, as it is permanent, highly scalable, and offers many co-benefits.
“We’re proud to be backed by many of the world’s most respected investors and corporate partners whose support will enable us to spread enough rock by 2025 to remove 1m tonnes (metric tons) of CO2 at a highly competitive cost,” he also said.
Earlier this year, UNDO became the first enhanced rock weathering supplier for Microsoft. As part of the agreement with the tech giant, UNDO will spread 25,000 tons of basalt on agricultural soil in the UK, which will permanently remove about 5,000 tons of carbon in the next two decades.
“Enhanced rock weathering represents the rare CDR pathway where permanence, scalability, and co-benefits intersect,” said Ferry Heilemann, founder and partner at AENU.
Read more: Microsoft Makes First Enhanced Weathering CO2 Removal Purchase From UNDO
