July 31, 2024
Houston, TX - July 31, 2024 - Applied Carbon, a technology company designing automated biochar production machines that convert in-field agricultural crop waste into biochar, today announced it has raised a $21.5 million Series A. The funding round was led by TO VC, with participation from Congruent Ventures, Grantham Foundation, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, S2G Ventures, Overture.vc, Wireframe Ventures, Autodesk Foundation, Anglo American, Susquehanna Foundation, US Endowment for Forestry and Communities, TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, and Elemental Excelerator. The funding will be used to deploy a fleet of biochar machines across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana, delivering high durability carbon removal and agricultural services. The company was also recently named as a top-20 global finalist in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition and as a semifinalist in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) CO2 Removal Purchase Pilot Prize.
Applied Carbon, formerly known as Climate Robotics, has developed a mobile, in-field solution that picks up agricultural crop residue left after harvesting and converts it into biochar in a single pass. The resulting biochar product is deposited back onto the field, simultaneously increasing soil health, improving agronomic productivity, reducing lime and fertilizer requirements, and providing a durable carbon removal and storage solution.
“Multiple independent studies indicate that converting crop waste into biochar has the potential to remove gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year, while creating trillions of dollars in value for the world’s farmers,” said Jason Aramburu, co-founder and CEO of Applied Carbon. “However, there is no commercially available technology to convert these wastes at low cost. Applied Carbon’s patented in-field biochar production system is the first solution that can convert crop waste into biochar at a scale and a cost that makes sense for broad acre farming.”
Applied Carbon’s technology utilizes a high-tech, fully self-contained trailer pulled behind a tractor that collects crop residue, processes it into biochar via high temperature pyrolysis before quenching it with water and supplementing it with nutrients and microbes as desired by the farmer. The final biochar product exits the machine and is spread directly onto the field, eliminating bulk material transport and drastically reducing its cost per ton. The machine can also operate in an efficient edge-of-field configuration for added flexibility to address diverse crop wastes all year long.
“We’ve been looking at the biochar sector for over a decade and Applied Carbon's in-field proposition is incredibly compelling,” said Joshua Posamentier, co-founder and managing partner of Congruent Ventures. “The two most exciting things about this approach are that it profitably swings the agricultural sector from carbon positive to carbon negative and that it can get to world-scale impact, on a meaningful timeline, while saving farmers money."
In addition to the agricultural benefits, the biochar produced by Applied Carbon’s technology represents an immense carbon removal opportunity. Research indicates that carbon removed via biochar is one of the safest and most permanent atmospheric carbon removal methods currently available. In 2023, over 90% of the durable carbon removal sold to commercial buyers came from biochar, a trend that is expected to continue. Applied Carbon’s biochar technology, coupled with the company’s precision automation and data monitoring system, offers best-in-class carbon removal monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), qualities that are critical for transparent engagement with large-scale carbon removal buyers.
"Up to one-third of excess CO2 that has accumulated in the atmosphere since the start of human civilization has come from humans disturbing soil through agriculture,” said Joshua Phitoussi, co-founder and managing partner at TO VC. “To reach our net-zero objectives, we need to put that carbon back where it belongs. Biochar is unique in its potential to do so at a permanence and price point that are conducive to mass-scale adoption of carbon dioxide removal solutions, while also leaving farmers and consumers better off thanks to better soil health and nutrition. Thanks to its technology and business model, Applied Carbon is the only company that turns that potential into reality."
Before rebranding from Climate Robotics to Applied Carbon in June to better align with the operational motivation of the company, the company was named as a top 20 finalist in XPRIZE’s four-year, $100 million global Carbon Removal Competition. Additionally, the company was named a semi-finalist and awarded $50k to scale its CO2 removal solution through the Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize program in May.
About Applied Carbon
Applied Carbon is scaling groundbreaking technologies that regenerate soils and sequester atmospheric carbon for the betterment of people and planet. Developed by a team of earth scientists, roboticists, AI researchers, agriculturalists, and industrial manufacturing experts, the company’s mobile technology leverages natural thermal processes and precision automation to convert field wastes into stable carbon that builds soil health and stays out of the atmosphere permanently, thereby keeping carbon where it matters most. For more information, visit www.appliedcarbon.com.
About TO VC
TO VC backs vital teams tackling the world's most pressing challenges. As an early-stage decarbonization venture capital fund, TO VC invests in groundbreaking climate tech companies focused on transforming food systems, energy systems, and pioneering carbon removal solutions. TO VC believes these areas are the key to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and restoring harmony between humanity and the planet. TO VC is steadfast in its conviction that tomorrow's giants will be climate innovators and that the most compelling companies today are those dedicated to combating climate change. Discover more at to.vc.
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