|
Return To Main Page
Contact Us
Andes Raises $30M To Turn Farmland Into Carbon-Sucking Machines
By Keerthi Vedantam
March 16, 2023
Some of the
largest tech companies in the world have pledged to go carbon-negative
within the next few years by purchasing carbon offsets — credits for
funding wind farms or other sustainable energy projects.
But there may be a way to turn acres of rolling fields in the U.S. into
carbon capture mills without building energy systems.
Andes,
a climate tech startup from California, announced on Thursday it raised
$30 million in Series A funding, bringing total funding to $38 million,
per the company. Investors such as Leaps
by Bayer, Cavallo
Ventures and Germin8 participated
in the raise.
The company leverages microorganisms that live in large patches of
farmland to capture carbon dioxide and convert it into minerals, which
reduces greenhouse gasses.
“Catastrophic climate disasters that jeopardize human life and natural
resources are inevitable without high-permanence, scalable carbon
sequestration,” said CEO and founder Gonzalo
Fuenzalida in
a statement.
One of the most
popular seed-stage funding categories
Around 52% of the
land in the U.S. is dedicated to agriculture. This kind of technology has
the ability to turn swathes of land into carbon-sucking ecosystems.
And investors are taking note. At the beginning of the year, Crunchbase
News identified carbon capturing companies as among
the most popular categories for seed-stage funding. Lithos
Carbon,
which raised $6.3 million in 2022 to help farmers reduce greenhouse
gasses, raised $6.3 million in 2022.
What’s perhaps most fascinating about companies like Andes is how they
integrate pretty seamlessly with agriculture practices. Farmers simply mix
these organisms into soil along with plant seeds.
As the plant grows, those microorganisms shelter with its roots to suck
carbon dioxide out of the air and convert them into minerals. When
rainfall occurs, those minerals sink deeper and deeper into the soil which
improves soil nutrient content, helps with water drainage, and decreases
the likelihood of plant diseases.
For a long time, this kind of technology was only available to soybean
farmers. They would use Bradyrhizobium, a nitrogen-fixing bacteria, that
improved yield while acting as a natural fertilizer. But it wasn’t easy
for other crops to live peacefully with Bradyrhizobium.
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
www.exactrix.com
509 995 1879 cell, Pacific.
Nathan1@greenplayammonia.com
exactrix@exactrix.com
|