CREW Carbon announced it has closed an oversubscribed Series A funding round totaling $25 million to expand its wastewater treatment optimization technology and carbon dioxide removal platform. The round included $19 million in equity financing and $6 million in grant and other non-dilutive funding sources.
The financing round was led by Burnt Island Ventures, with participation from AP Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, Builders Vision, Kibo Invest, Idemitsu Ventures, New York Ventures, and family office investors. Existing investors participating in the round included Counteract, ANIMO Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, Ponderosa Ventures, and Echo River Capital.
Based in Brooklyn, CREW Carbon develops wastewater treatment technology designed to improve plant performance while simultaneously removing carbon dioxide. The company’s patented process uses strategically sourced alkaline minerals such as calcium carbonate to optimize pH and alkalinity conditions in wastewater treatment systems, enabling better pollutant removal, improved settleability, reduced chemical usage, and increased plant capacity and efficiency.
The company said wastewater treatment utilities are facing increasing pressure from tighter regulations, growing wastewater volumes, and aging infrastructure, which has contributed to treatment costs doubling over the past two decades. CREW’s technology is designed to help utilities expand the performance of existing infrastructure without requiring major capital expenditures.
CREW said its solution integrates directly into existing wastewater processes, allowing utilities to see measurable operational improvements within weeks. The company has already secured multiple long-term RFPs with wastewater utilities across the United States.
In addition to wastewater optimization, CREW’s technology permanently removes carbon dioxide by locking away CO2 and superpollutant emissions in measurable forms using existing industrial infrastructure. The company said this approach avoids the permitting and federal funding requirements often associated with other carbon removal technologies.
CREW has also secured long-term carbon removal agreements with organizations including JPMorgan Chase, Google, Autodesk, and Stripe through Frontier.
Since launching commercial operations in 2024, CREW said it has deployed its technology at nearly 10 wastewater treatment facilities across the United States and Europe, including projects with HRSD. The company added that one utility customer is considering deferring $350 million in planned capital upgrades due to the operational improvements generated by CREW’s system.
Additional milestones highlighted by the company include securing more than $33 million in carbon removal offtake agreements, capturing more than 2,000 tons of CO2, winning a $2.3 million award from the Colorado Energy Office as part of the state’s Clean Air Program, and developing proprietary measurement, reporting, and verification capabilities for carbon removal quantification.
CREW said it also recently began developing a scalable analytics platform for wastewater treatment facilities aimed at delivering operational insights and process optimization capabilities.
The company plans to use the new funding to expand deployments with additional wastewater utilities and hire for several key positions in 2026, including roles focused on wastewater process technology, supply chain and logistics, and business development.
KEY QUOTES:
“CREW’s water technology is driving jaw-dropping results for wastewater customers. On top of the improvements they deliver to wastewater utilities, CREW’s precise measurement of permanent carbon removal is highly differentiated in the crediting market and empowers carbon credit buyers to know exactly what they are paying for. Together, CREW’s technology and business model are aligning good environmental outcomes with the bottom line for a massively impactful industry.”
Tom Ferguson, Partner, Burnt Island Ventures
“We are pleased to welcome CREW to our portfolio. CREW has impressed us with its rapid progress, ability to deliver real carbon dioxide removal, and high-quality low-cost approach to CDR. The team is focused on executing a clear go-to-market strategy that leverages existing industrial infrastructure and well-defined customer pain points to unlock decarbonisation at scale. CREW is advancing quickly, and we look forward to supporting their continued growth.”
Andrew Hinkly, Managing Partner, AP Ventures
“Startups advancing frontier technologies to tackle global environmental challenges are central to building more sustainable, resilient industries – and a key focus of Sony Innovation Fund’s investment strategy. CREW combines deep geochemistry expertise with a pragmatic business approach to seamlessly integrate carbon capture into existing infrastructure, making it both scalable and commercially viable. With multiple deployments already underway, CREW is well-positioned to help various industries accelerate decarbonization.”
Austin Noronha, Managing Director, Sony Ventures-US
