Climate tech startup Equatic announced that it has raised $11.6 million in a Series A funding round, with proceeds from the financing aimed at scaling up its seawater electrolysis technology enabling carbon removal and green hydrogen production.
Founded in 2021, California-based Equatic has developed an electrolytic process for atmospheric carbon removal that accelerates the ocean’s ability to absorb and permanently store massive amounts of carbon, while producing carbon negative hydrogen as a co-product. Equatic’s process pumps seawater into an on-shore plant, and uses renewable energy to split the seawater into four hydrogen, oxygen, acid, and base streams, with the acid stream neutralized with crushed rock to avoid ocean acidification, the base stream contacted with the atmosphere to remove CO2 from the air, and the seawater then discharged with residual dissolved and solid inorganic carbon.
According to the company, hydrogen produced through the passage of an electrical current through the seawater can be used to replace 40% of the energy used for carbon dioxide removal, or sold to be used to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries.
Equatic’s technology has been deployed at two pilot plants in Los Angeles and Singapore, and the company is expanding its operations with a demonstration plant in Singapore and a commercial-scale plant in Canada. The company said that the new capital will support the engineering of its new commercial facility, in addition to commercialization, manufacturing, and technological development.
Equatic Founder and Chief Technology Officer Gaurav N. Sant said:
“This investment marks a pivotal moment for Equatic, enabling us to significantly scale our production capabilities and accelerate our mission to deliver durable carbon removal at scale.”
The Series A round was led by Temasek Trust’s climate and health-focused catalytic vehicle Catalytic Capital for Climate and Health (C3H), and climate tech-focused private investment office Kibo Invest.
Ryan Tan, Head of C3H, said:
“Equatic’s technology and approach exemplify the type of bold and scalable innovation that aligns with C3H’s mandate. We are delighted to support Equatic’s goal in advancing promising climate mitigation solutions that offer permanent, durable carbon removal with green hydrogen production for scalable, tangible impact and commercial benefit.”
James Marshall, CEO of Kibo Invest, added:
“Equatic represents an exciting opportunity to scale deep-tech innovation that addresses two critical needs: decarbonisation and clean energy. As an investor focused on climate solutions, we are proud to partner with C3H and Equatic to help bring this breakthrough technology to commercial scale.”
