CREW Carbon raises $5.3mm seed round to capture carbon at wastewater treatment facilities

Counteract Partners leads funding to scale CREW Carbon's commercial operations with existing wastewater treatment partners, while expanding their technology to additional plants

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In order to meet global climate targets, ~10 gigatons of carbon dioxide needs to be removed from the atmosphere annually by 2050¹. CREW Carbon is on a mission to leverage its enhanced weathering approach within earth's water cycle, focused initially on removing biogenic CO₂ produced in wastewater treatment facilities. Significant amounts of CO₂ are naturally concentrated within wastewater, creating an ideal environment to rapidly scale carbon removal. Developed through years of research at Yale University, CREW's technology enhances the natural power of minerals to treat wastewater and store CO₂ permanently, all while removing the cost barrier to optimize biological treatment in wastewater. The company is already operating at multiple plants and are on their way to scaling operations to remove thousands of tons next year.  Seed funding will enable CREW to grow the team, deploy systems at additional wastewater plants, and continue building their proprietary carbon monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system.

The oversubscribed round was led by Counteract and included participation by ReGen Ventures, ANIMO, Connecticut Innovations, Ponderosa Ventures, Newlab, Echo River Capital, and the Carbon Drawdown Initiative.

"Robust greenhouse gas removal is needed, and needed swiftly, to limit the effects of climate change and to meet our climate goals," said Dr. Joachim Katchinoff, CREW Co-Founder and CEO. "CREW has identified that water resource recovery facilities are one of the best locations for rapid carbon removal. As a society we have spent decades building amazing wastewater treatment infrastructure to keep our environment safe; now, with CREW's technology, we can work with utility and industrial partners to supplement their treatment processes in a way that can measurably remove CO₂ at scale while enabling safe and efficient wastewater treatment."

The solution is resonating with investors, who see it as a scaleable, affordable way to address the climate problem. Andy Bonsall, Partner at Counteract who led the round and specializes in backing solutions for gigaton-scale carbon removal, said "We're thrilled about CREW's game-changing technology that scales measurable carbon removal while simultaneously delivering key improvements for wastewater facilities. By partnering with wastewater treatment plants, who are already important stewards of our communities and environment, CREW is tapping into existing infrastructure and keeping costs of deployment low. It's a win for municipalities, industry, and our journey to net-zero, solving long standing challenges with a demonstrated, low-cost solution."

Given the co-benefits for wastewater treatment operators, "CREW's solution is an easy sell to partners in the wastewater sector," according to Chris Morrison, Executive in Residence at ImagineH2O and former Division Vice President of Water Process Services at Ecolab/Nalco. "The CREW technology is sound - their pilots to date have achieved their goals of reducing costs and improving pH and alkalinity management. The technology is safer than existing solutions - removing harmful chemicals like caustic from operations. And the technology is innovative - it's truly a first of a kind solution that transforms wastewater treatment plants into climate hubs. It's a paradigm shift for the industry."

About CREW

CREW Carbon is a carbon removal company that uses engineered enhanced weathering to remove CO₂ from municipal and industrial wastewater systems. CREW's technology enhances the natural power of minerals to help treat wastewater and store carbon dioxide permanently. CREW partners with wastewater treatment plants, leveraging existing infrastructure to enable measurable climate impact while simultaneously helping optimize biological treatment.

 References

1. CDR Primer, The Case for Carbon Dioxide Removal, 2024

Media Contact: Jo Katchinoff, [email protected]

SOURCE CREW Carbon