Origen, a growing limestone-based carbon removal provider, announced today that it has secured £10.5m in Series A funding, led by Barclays Climate Ventures. Shell Ventures, Exascale Fund, Elemental Impact, and Hatch also participated in the round.
The company will use the capital to scale its limestone-based direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon from the atmosphere, continuing to grow and scale its commercial projects worldwide. The company also plans to invest in further research at its technology and research centre in Bristol.
Origen's differentiated approach to direct air capture (DAC) uses the natural chemistry of highly abundant limestone to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Origen separates the carbon from the limestone rock, safely storing it underground, to create the mineral lime. Lime is then effective at pulling carbon from the atmosphere through a naturally occurring and passive process.
In the face of rising global temperatures, there is an urgent need to slow the pace of carbon emissions as well as reduce the amount of carbon already in the atmosphere through DAC solutions. Moreover, DAC represents an important step toward reducing emissions from hard-to-decarbonise sectors like manufacturing, shipping, and construction industries.
The company recently announced a partnership with the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) to capture 1,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of carbon dioxide per year using this process at a facility under construction in North Dakota. Origen's approach includes proprietary technology across the entire value stack, including the kiln, lime preparation, and air contactor. The company's DAC technology is also fuel flexible, avoiding short-term energy challenges faced by other DAC providers and enabling scalable carbon removal today while adapting to the evolving energy mix over time.
Origen also previously announced a partnership with Shell and Mitsubishi to begin the development process on the Pelican Gulf Coast Carbon Removal Direct Air Capture project. The project is expected to remove up to 50,000 tonnes of carbon per year – more than 10 times the largest operating DAC facility in the U.S. today. The potential offtake includes up to £2.5m in advanced carbon removal credits.
