Origen Power Limited, a growing limestone-based carbon removal provider, announced that it had secured $13 million in Series A funding led by Barclays Climate Ventures. And Shell Ventures, Exascale Fund, Elemental Impact, and Hatch also participated in the round.
The company will use the funding 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. And the company also plans to invest in further research at its technology and research center in Bristol.
Origen’s approach to direct air capture (DAC) uses the natural chemistry of highly abundant limestone to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. And 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.
There is an urgent need to slow the pace of carbon emissions and reduce the amount of carbon already in the atmosphere through DAC solutions. And DAC represents an essential step toward reducing emissions from hard-to-decarbonize sectors like manufacturing, shipping, and construction industries.
The company had recently announced a partnership with the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) to capture 1,000 tons per annum (tpa) of carbon dioxide per year using this process at a facility under construction in North Dakota. And 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 while 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 had also previously announced a partnership with Shell and Mitsubishi to begin developing the Pelican Gulf Coast Carbon Removal Direct Air Capture project. And 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 $3 million in advanced carbon removal credits.
KEY QUOTES:
“Efficiently enabled by the technology we have developed at Origen, limestone can act as a natural sponge for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. The challenge is that we need investment to deliver at scale. This funding gives us the runway we need to streamline our process and reduce costs to deliver the carbon reductions that our planet needs.”
– Ben Riddle-Turner, CEO of Origen
“Origen has the process, technology, and team needed to deploy efficient direct air capture at scale. So that Origen can deliver impact, the focus is rightly now on proving the technology via Origen’s project with EERC and preparing for the development of commercial projects, which Barclays is proud to support through today’s investment.”
– Steven Poulter, Head of Barclays Climate Ventures
“Shell Ventures is excited to support Origen and its direct air capture technology. Advancing carbon removal technologies is a critical part of the energy transition, and Origen’s technology relies on raw materials that have established supply chains and has the potential to generate low-cost carbon removal credits at scale, which can catalyze the industry.”
– Quennie Co, Managing Partner of Shell Ventures
“Tim Kruger’s groundbreaking TED talk on ideas of using limestone’s natural chemical properties to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere left a lasting impression on me. Today, I’m thrilled to see Origen bringing these exceptional ideas to commercial scale. Exa is proud to join this funding round alongside strong new partners in this space.”
– Chris Anderson, Head of TED and General Partner, Exa
“We were excited to back Origen because they’re already making real progress on the ground in Louisiana and North Dakota. For Elemental, these projects aren’t just about carbon capture – they’re creating jobs and economic opportunities in the communities where they operate.”
– Danya Hakeem, VP of Portfolio at Elemental Impact
