Breaking the CDR energy barrier - ZCC invests in Kairos Carbon.

To achieve Net Zero by 2050, we need both emissions reductions and removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (CDR). Most of the work will be emissions reduction (80% of the 50 Gt/year), but CDR is critical in all scenarios for limiting global heating to 1.5°C or even 2°C.  The IPCC and others project that we need 10 Gt/year of CDR by 2050, starting now and scaling rapidly by 2050. Currently we are removing only 2 Gt/yr, mostly through afforestation and reforestation, leaving a huge opportunity for new technologies that provide scalable, affordable and high impact CDR. 

Projections of a trillion dollar CDR market (based on estimates of $100/ton of CO₂ captured) has led to an explosion of innovation for CDR. But with current CDR methods, there is a trade-off between price and energy requirements on one hand, and durability and measurability on the other. Many biological CDR solutions are low cost, but less durable or measurable; and many of the engineered solutions are high cost and high energy, but are measurable and have high durability. 

We are excited to be investing in Kairos Carbon whose process solves the current CDR trade-offs by offering a low cost, highly durable CDR approach. They project they can achieve $50/t CO₂ captured, which will be injected underground and sequestered for 1000s of years. 

Kairos Carbon's CO₂ Removal Process

Kairos Carbon’s advanced hydrothermal processing system will turn biogenic carbon from difficult to treat waste feedstocks into CO₂, clean water and valuable minerals. The CO₂ gas will be permanently stored underground in exchange for carbon credits, and phosphorus recovered to be recycled as fertiliser.  They focus on sludgy, heterogeneous wastes which are costly to process in any other way, such as sewage and municipal waste (see our recent deep dive on Wet Waste).  Their process involves a highly exothermic reaction that generates excess heat, which results in a self-sustaining process. This enables a breakthrough reduction in the energy required per ton of CO₂ sequestered, making Kairos much lower cost than other durable, measurable CDR methods.

Hundreds of megatonnes of wet waste are produced globally, large volumes of which are only partially treated, sent for incineration or or landfill, releasing carbon dioxide and methane. Kairos Carbon estimates their emissions reduction potential (ERP) in 2050 to be 0.9Gt/year of CO₂e when they scale in Europe, USA, and China.

Kairos Carbon is led by a stellar founding team with deep expertise in CDR and waste processing.  CEO, Megha Raghavan, is a former management consultant with business and strategy experience who has spent the last 3 years in the carbon removal sector. CTO, Daniel Murray, has a PhD in industrial microbiology and is former founder of an industrial biotech startup with experience commercialising wastewater treatment systems.  

ZCC is thrilled to be leading this pre-seed investment in Kairos Carbon, a spinout from Deep Science Ventures and backed by the Grantham Foundation.