The world is facing the threat of global warming but thanks to startups pioneering the latest in climate technologies, there may be a way to reduce our carbon footprint. Carbon capture-focused startup Carbominer, based in Ukraine, is one such company attempting to capture carbon dioxide from the air and pipe it into greenhouses in order to help farmers grow crops.
Founded by CEO Nick Oseyko and led by Chief Marketing Officer Viktoria Oseyko, Carbominer has raised $900,000 in funding and recently completed a successful pilot trial of its machine. Once fully operational, it will be able to capture 46 tonnes of CO₂ each year when powered by renewable energy. The firm also plans to open an office in neighbouring Poland this summer.
In Finland, the team at Soletair Power has developed an effective way of capturing carbon dioxide from buildings, harnessing from existing ventilation systems, offering an opportunity to remove tens of kilos of CO₂ per day. Soletair Power has 10 employees and has received €1.5 million in funding, plus grants, to support their mission. With their technology, the captured CO₂ is eventually used in the production of concrete, so it can be embedded permanently in building blocks.
Their technology is both affordable and efficient, costing anywhere from €500 to €1000 per tonne. To reach net zero, the cost of carbon capture needs to drop to $100 (€91) per tonne. Their systems have already been installed in Finland and Germany as many real estate companies aims to become carbon net zero by 2028.
There is also Silicate, a startup from Ireland that treats agricultural land so it can capture CO₂ from the air and effectively lock it down into the soil. Silicate, led by founder Maurice Bryson, has 10 employees but have not yet raised funding, although they have won the Thrive / Shell Climate-Smart Agriculture Challenge with $100,000 (€91,000) in grants. Their process relies on waste concrete, which is crushed into a powdery material and spread over a field. This process can remove 2 tonnes of CO₂ per hectare and per year, at a cost that could potentially fall below the $100 per tonne price point.
Overall, direct air capture technology is in its infancy but the industry is growing. Investment in carbon capture and storage more than doubled over the past year and reached an all time high of nearly €6 billion in 2022. As the urgency to reach net zero emissions continues to increase, these technologies will play a bigger role in the near future.
Carbominer is a carbon capture-focused startup led by CEO Nick Oseyko and Chief Marketing Officer Viktoria Oseyko. The firm has raised $900,000 funding, built a machine to capture carbon dioxide from the air and is currently looking to open an office in Poland. They hope to eventually be able to capture 46 tonnes of CO₂ each year.
Viktoria Oseyko is the chief marketing officer of Carbominer and leads the team in the development of the machine that is used to capture CO₂ from the air. She and her father, Nick Oseyko, fled their homes when Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, but she was determined to come back and help her team continue the development of their CO₂ capture technology. She hopes that by the end of the year, their machine will be able to capture and pipe CO₂ into greenhouses to help farmers grow their crops.
