RepAir Raises $15M To Scale Carbon Capture Tech

RepAir, an Israel-based startup that is developing carbon capture technology, has completed a $15 million Series A round of funding. The new capital will be used to further speed the commercialization of RepAir's electromechanical carbon capture technology, which is expected to offer low-cost, scalable removal of atmospheric and industrial emissions.

RepAir was established in 2020 and has since created a modular and scalable carbon capture system that can remove carbon dioxide from diluted sources. Its technology is broad enough to be applied to a vast array of applications, such as direct air capture (DAC) and the reduction of point-source industrial emissions. RepAir's system is different from traditional carbon capture technologies that tend to depend on heat, liquids, or chemical solvents. Instead, it works electromechanically. The process of innovation consists of putting cathode and anode electrodes on either side of a separator plate, with atmospheric air being sucked into the cathode. Upon passing an electric current, hydroxide ions are produced on the surface of the cathode, which combine with CO₂ molecules passing over the separator to the anode. The remaining air, having no carbon dioxide, is then released back to the atmosphere.

The startup asserts that its technology uses 70% less energy than conventional carbon capture technologies. This dramatic decrease in energy consumption makes the system especially well-suited to capture diluted CO₂ emissions from difficult sources like gas turbines, aluminum smelters, and even ambient air. Treating these diluted emission sources has been one of the biggest challenges to scaling industrial carbon capture operations for decades.

RepAir plans to invest the proceeds in accelerating its path to commercial-scale production. The major thrust areas are reinforcing its engineering organization, improving capabilities in production, and executing strategic demonstration projects with leading industry participants. Through the accomplishment of these milestones, RepAir plans to demonstrate the robustness of its technology in the harsh realities of industrial settings and lay the ground for wider dissemination.

Amir Shiner, RepAir's CEO and Co-founder, underscored the need and importance of their mission. He explained that although renewable energy sources are vital, they alone are not enough to fulfill the growing global energy demand, especially one powered by the swift growth of artificial intelligence technologies. In the view of Shiner, large industries such as aluminum producers, gas turbine manufacturers, and international original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) running large-scale plants are increasingly finding themselves in need of sophisticated carbon capture solutions. Several of them are looking for technologies that can handle the gigaton-scale CO₂ problem of diluted emissions—a niche that conventional solutions today find it difficult to address effectively.

The round was led by Taranis Carbon Ventures and Extantia Capital, with further support from renewable energy giant Ormat Technologies and Spanish energy firm Repsol. As a major shot in the arm to RepAir's balance sheet, the Israeli Innovation Authority also added a non-dilutive $3 million grant as part of the funding round. This grant will serve as vital support without diluting existing shareholders' stakes, enabling the company to preserve strategic control while expanding operations.

Along with the investment, Victor Choley of Taranis and Yair Reem of Extantia are joining RepAir's board of directors. The two executives bring important experience scaling climate innovation technologies and are poised to play an important role shaping RepAir's strategic development.

Victor Choley emphasized the larger context of the investment, especially in the context of the increasing energy usage fueled by AI technologies. He emphasized that the accelerating growth in energy demand for AI has generated a sudden and critical requirement for efficient carbon capture solutions, especially those that can be integrated into gas turbine power generation systems. As Choley reports, RepAir's versatile platform, which can be used on both direct air capture and point-source emissions, is a highly promising avenue for achieving significant reductions and removals of emissions at efficiencies heretofore out of reach.

With robust financial support, a revolutionary technological platform, and growing industrial interest, RepAir is set to be at the forefront of shaping the carbon capture industry. As the globe struggles with the pressing need to decarbonize the energy industry and industrial processes, scalable and energy-efficient technologies such as RepAir's are destined to become key elements of global climate action.