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As global governments struggle to slash carbon emissions and limit global warming, the energy sector is rife with opportunities for businesses that can offer emissions-reduction solutions.
However, many countries are looking at ways to not just limit their emissions but remove and store existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere — a process known as carbon sequestration.
In the wake of a new era of energy tech, Australian startup AirSeet Technologies has partnered with investment firm Conscious Investment Management (CIM) to help create a carbon sequestration fund of up to $200 million — one of the largest of its kind.
This is AirSeed’s first large-scale contract with a leading impact investment manager and will involve the large-scale application of AirSeed’s hyper-productive planting solution.
Essentially, AirSeed is working to increase global carbon sequestration through large-scale reforestation.
AirSeed’s model combines science, mobile manufacturing and drone planting of its own seed-pod biotechnology that provides critical early-stage nutrients to plants, increasing their life and boosting plant growth.
After extensive terrain mapping and ecosystem modelling, a nutrient-rich seed pod is manufactured.
The company then uses AI-powered drones to plant the seeds.
“Securing an agreement to work with CIM as it establishes one of the largest carbon sequestration funds of this type is important validation of our value proposition for large-scale application of our solution and brings us significantly closer to our 100 million planting goal by 2024,” AirSeed CEO and Co-Founder Andrew Walker said.
“AirSeed is currently in dialogue with a number of corporate investors who see the same economic and environmental opportunities as CIM. AirSeed is now capitalising so that we can deliver on this unique and critical opportunity at scale.”
AirSeed said it was already working with Telstra to establish a 240-hectare project that would capture 160,000 tons of carbon over 25 years.
The company will also work with Treasury Wine Estates and its brand, St Hubert’s The Stag, to plant 100,000 seed pods this year.
Meanwhile, AirSeed has also launched a Series A capital raise to help provide extra funds for the milestone CIM contract.
“Launching our Series A funding round will drive AirSeed’s delivery of this massive opportunity and continue the transformation of our business to meet the rapidly growing appetite for reforestation and replanting opportunities at the scale necessary to help shift the dial on climate change,” Mr Walker said.
“This is a billion-dollar opportunity for AirSeed given our unique, scalable approach to rapid reforestation and investment in rigorous and robust reporting to show impact.”
The importance of sequestration
According to the Climate Change Authority, carbon sequestration can help decarbonise emissions that cannot yet be reduced using other methods.
However, this involves careful management that must ensure storage is durable, adverse impacts are avoided and sequestration does not delay emissions reductions in the long term.
While some companies are looking at literally drawing carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and storing it underground, others — like AirSeed — are turning to more natural methods by looking to create more forests, which act as natural carbon dioxide absorbers and storers.
AirSeed is on track to achieve 100 million pods planted by 2024 and will include projects that were too large and expensive to tackle until now.
Over the next five years, both AirSeed and CIM expect restoration to improve and for carbon sequestration projects to generate meaningful service provider revenue.
The establishment of carbon sequestration funds is one way to encourage investment in climate change mitigation and promote the transition to a low-carbon economy.
