Revolutionising Carbon Removal and Green Tech: Success Stories from Amazon, Stripe, BlueGreen, Gaia, and the Steel Industry
Net Zero Shots - 18th July 2024
Welcome to today’s edition of Net Zero shots : 5 news in 5 mins to make you smarter in climate tech!
Carbon Removal
How Stripe's $1 Million Bet Sparked a $925 Million Revolution in Carbon Removal Technology
Strip exec Nan Ransahoff talks about the role of carbon removal in fighting climate change in this interesting interview. Stripe's $1 million investment evolved into Stripe Climate, engaging 30,000+ businesses, and led to Frontier, a $925 million fund for carbon removal technologies. The discussion covers policy advocacy and measurement protocols to ensure the credibility of carbon removal efforts.
Stripe Climate Initiative: Stripe Climate enables businesses to contribute a fraction of their revenue to carbon removal efforts, attracting over 30,000 participants and millions in contributions.
Frontier's Dual-Track Approach: Frontier uses pre-purchase agreements for early-stage companies and offtake agreements for more established technologies to balance risk and drive down costs.
Frontier's Ambitious Goals: Frontier aims to support 50-100 million tons of permanent carbon removal annually by 2030, requiring billions in investment, with the ultimate goal of scalable, affordable carbon removal solutions by mid-century.
BlueGreen Water Technologies Secures Series B2 Funding to Revolutionise Water Safety and Carbon Removal
BlueGreen Water Technologies, a leader in water-based carbon removal, has closed a Series B2 funding round led by TAU Capital and OurCrowd. The funds will accelerate BlueGreen's market penetration and development of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solutions, enhancing its mission to combat water scarcity and climate change. The investment supports BlueGreen's technology in rehabilitating aquatic ecosystems and issuing high-quality carbon credits.
Funding Utilisation: The investment will expedite BlueGreen’s efforts to rehabilitate aquatic ecosystems and develop its marine-based CDR business unit.
Technological Impact: BlueGreen’s carbon removal technology leverages water as a natural carbon sink, with technologies like Lake Guard® and Net Blue™.
Market Position: The company has issued 13,000 tonnes of CO2e carbon credits and fulfilled a pre-purchase agreement, solidifying its role in the voluntary carbon market.
Direct Air Capture
How This Ottawa Startup is Using Biomass to Revolutionize Carbon Capture and Save the Planet
Gaia, an Ottawa-based startup, developed an innovative direct air capture system using biomass to reduce energy consumption. Founded by Tammy Cai, the company aims to make carbon removal more efficient and scalable. Gaia’s method captures CO2 using organic acids from industrial waste, offering a circular and low-energy solution for climate change mitigation.
Innovative Low-Energy Process: Gaia's DAC system uses organic acids from industrial waste streams to release CO2 from a sorbent, creating a low-energy, closed-loop process that also regenerates the sorbent.
Effective Carbon Sequestration: The captured CO2 can be sequestered by partners through sustainable biomass feedstock or underground injection, forming stable carbonates and minimising the need for extensive energy inputs.
Proven Technology: The company has validated its lab-scale prototype and is starting a pilot project in Hamilton to remove 50 tonnes of carbon annually.
Green Steel
Steel Industry's Massive Emissions: Can Green Tech Overtake Coal ?
The steel and iron industry emits more greenhouse gases than all the world's cars and vans combined, contributing 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. While 93% of new steelmaking capacity in 2024 will use lower-emission electric arc furnaces (EAFs), coal-based methods still dominate ongoing construction projects, requiring continued efforts to transition fully to greener technologies..
Net Zero Roadmap for green steel - steel produced by EAF should grow from 24% in 2020, to 37% by 2030 and then 52% by 2050.
Limited Progress: Only 14% of announced EAF capacity is under construction, with 46% still BOF (Basic oxygen furnace)-based, risking stranded assets and needing more follow-through for net-zero goals.
China Transitions to EAFs: India leads in announced steel capacity, but China remains the largest EAF developer, focusing new permits on greener steelmaking
Renewable Energy
Amazon's Stunning Achievement: 100% Renewable Energy 7 Years Ahead of Schedule!
Amazon achieved its 100% renewable energy goal seven years ahead of its 2030 target by investing billions in 500 global solar and wind projects. This rapid transition powers 7.6 million U.S. homes and marks Amazon as the world's top corporate buyer of renewable energy. The company's future plans include further investments in solar, wind, and emerging technologies to continue decarbonizing operations and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
Massive Investment: Amazon invested in 500 solar and wind projects worldwide, significantly contributing to its renewable energy success.
Global Reach: The company has extensive renewable energy projects in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific, including 1.7 GW capacity across six offshore wind farms in Europe.
Innovative Solutions: Amazon incorporates AI and machine learning to enhance grid stability and efficiency in renewable energy projects, such as the Baldy Mesa solar farm.
Lets see what comes up tomorrow in the world of climate tech, stay tuned with Net Zero Shots.