Brooklyn-based startup Vycarb, which is developing a scalable technology for removing and storing excess CO2 from water, has received a pre-seed funding round Twynam Earth Fund, the Australian company’s climate tech venture capital branch.
The ocean absorbs 30% of the CO2 humans create and 90% of the heat. The rising level of CO2 that the ocean must absorb can lead to ocean acidification, which can disrupt biodiversity and threaten both sea and human health and life. Vycarb said it captures and stores CO2 in water using a process that mimics the Earth’s. In the ocean, CO2 dissolved in water can bind to an alkaline, such as crushed rocks, creating stable molecules like bicarbonate. Vycarb replicates this process by dosing alkaline minerals to an enclosed reactor submerged in waters with high CO2 concentration; there, the CO2 binds to the minerals and is stored as a stable molecule. It calls this the Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) method.
The hardware and software systems can detect areas of high concentration in water, so they can be deployed where necessary. And since they rely on the natural flow of water, the company said, they require less energy. The company can also partner with mining companies and heavy industry who have access to the kinds of alkaline minerals the company uses.
Founded in 2022, Vycarb said it has had carbon offset pre-purchases including $100,000 from Stripe, as well as investments from Katapult Ocean and Australian mining company Rio Tinto, and a potential first-of-its-kind CO2 removal deal with the U.S. federal government.
The startup already has multiple pilots live on the U.S. East Coast, and their largest demonstration project so far, located in New York City’s East River, has the capacity to capture up to 100 tons of CO2 per year.
Twynam posted on LinkedIn:
“Even if humanity stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, we have already caused our planet to warm 1.1ºC. Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is critical – especially for hard-to-abate processes and industries. But existing methods fall short on permanence, cost, measurement (MRV), and scalability. That’s why we’ve backed Garrett Boudinot and the Vycarb team. Their innovative hardware and software system precisely measures, removes, and stores CO2 in water, ensuring over 10,000 years of permanence. It’s a cost-effective solution, with prices well under $100/t, that can be rapidly scaled.”
