Heirloom, a California-based innovator in carbon removal technology, today announced it has raised $150 million in a Series B funding round. The funding is slated to accelerate the scaling of its Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology, an essential tool in the fight against climate change by removing carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the atmosphere. DAC contributes to achieving a net-zero status.
Direct Air Capture is one of the key components of moving towards a net-zero energy system, the International Energy Agency says. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change underlines the methods of carbon removal, which includes DAC, to limit warming to 1.5°C. Studies by IPCC indicate that billions of tons of CO2 removal will be necessary in the coming decades, and DAC stands to play a significant role in reaching these targets.
Unlike the traditional carbon capture system, which is mostly located at the source of emission, this technology of DAC has the potential to remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere, providing a flexible carbon removal.
Heirloom Limestone-Based DAC Technology
Founded in 2020, Heirloom applies a creative approach to utilizing limestone- the world’s second-most abundant and one of its least expensive minerals-to catch CO2 from the atmosphere. The process begins with natural limestone, of which nearly 50 percent is CO2. By drawing out this CO2 from limestone and adding water, Heirloom creates a material that can quickly capture atmospheric CO2.
The extracted CO2 is then permanently trapped by a renewable energy powered kiln underground.
It has already attracted such an impressive roster of clients: Microsoft, JP Morgan, McKinsey, Stripe, and Shopify, among others-that this signals growing corporate interest in scalable carbon removal solutions.
Leverage new funding for growth.
New funding will allow Heirloom to lower the price of its technology, scale up its operations, and develop further projects. All these advances are important for making the DAC more available and effective at addressing climate change.
Heirloom is looking to use the capital to position itself for infrastructure capital to support the company’s long-term growth and deployment goals.
Key Investors and Backers
Future Positive and Lowercarbon Capital, which have been open advocates for the mission promoted at Heirloom, co-led the Series B round. Lowercarbon Capital had also participated in Heirloom’s earlier Series A round. New investors in the round include H&M Group, Japan Airlines, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co., MOL Switch LLC, Quantum Innovation Fund, and Siemens Financial Services. Ahren Innovation Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Carbon Direct Capital, and MCJ Collective also participated.
Heirloom said new investors in hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as automotive, shipping, aviation, and advanced manufacturing signify wide confidence in the capability of the company’s technology to transform these sectors.
Vision of the CEO-Cost-Effective Carbon Removal
Shashank Samala Heirloom’s CEO commented that cost cutting would determine the way ahead for this company, particularly in scale its DAC technology effectively to make meaningful change in reversing climate change. “It’s all about cost: cost and more cost,” Samala said. “And that only it really scales if it makes it affordable.”. “That’s exactly why they’re investing in Heirloom: we are proving- through our real-world deployments, our continued technological progress, not only that Heirloom has a clear path forward to the lowest-cost DAC solution but that we’re going to execute on this vision and deliver on this outcome.” A Path to Decarbonization The use of DAC from Heirloom aligns with the global plan towards net-zero emissions. It’s making materials cheap and abundant, such as limestone, and is emphasizing cuts in cost. It’s making carbon removal large-scale and affordable today. With a strong portfolio of investors and sharp strategic focus on innovation, Heirloom is well-positioned to take a leading seat in this rapidly evolving carbon removal industry.