Kenyan startup Octavia Carbon has secured $5 million in seed funding to scale its Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology. The company aims to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it underground, contributing to the global fight against climate change. Founded in 2022, Octavia Carbon is Kenya’s first DAC company.
Its machines capture CO2 from the air and store it underground, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. CEO Martin Freimüller revealed that Octavia began capturing CO2 earlier this year, using two devices capable of storing 50 tonnes of CO2 annually. The startup plans to increase this capacity to 1,500 tonnes by 2025 with the development of more machines.
Octavia Carbon collaborates with Cella Mineral Storage, a partner company that injects the captured CO2 underground. The CO2 reacts with volcanic rocks, converting into minerals like limestone, which permanently traps the gas and prevents it from re-entering the atmosphere.
Kenyan startup secures funding for DAC
Kenya’s East African Rift Valley provides ideal conditions for storing captured carbon due to its volcanic rocks such as basalts. Freimüller noted that the Rift Valley’s geology could theoretically store all the CO2 humans have emitted to date. Additionally, Kenya’s abundant geothermal energy offers Octavia a sustainable power source for its energy-intensive DAC process, giving the company a competitive edge over DAC facilities in other regions that often rely on fossil fuels.
The seed funding was partially secured through $1.1 million in presales of carbon credits, illustrating the growing interest in innovative climate solutions. Octavia Carbon has 12 clients, including Denmark’s Klimate, and is well-positioned to scale its operations and contribute to the global goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The funding will expedite the development of project Hummingbird, Octavia’s DAC+Storage pilot plant scheduled to launch towards the end of 2024.
The pilot will initially have a removal capacity of 250 metric tons of carbon, expected to scale up to 1,000 tons per year through the carbon storage site operated by Cella. Freimüller is optimistic about the future, citing Octavia’s journey from lab innovation to field-scale operations as proof of the potential in carbon capture technologies. “Engineering has the power to redefine what’s possible,” he said.
