Founded just two years ago, Octavia Carbon builds DAC machines that capture carbon dioxide (CO2), a key contributor to global warming, from the air for storage underground.
Scaling Carbon Removal with New Funding
After its initial success of capturing carbon in February 2024, Octavia Carbon has ambitious plans to expand its operations. The company currently operates two DAC devices, each with a capacity to capture 50 tonnes of CO2 per year.
The recent close of a $5 million seed round, co-led by Lateral Frontiers and E4E Africa, with participation from Catalyst Fund, Launch Africa, Fondation Botnar, and Renew Capital, will help Octavia increase its carbon capture capacity.
“This funding enables us to soon become the world’s second DAC company to complete the full cycle of deploying both CO2 capture and geological storage in the field,” said Martin Freimüller, Octavia’s co-founder and CEO. He added, “We’ve been developing the tech, and now we’re taking it out of the lab for carbon removal at scale.”
Freimüller explained that while Octavia captures and liquefies carbon from the air, it has teamed up with Cella, a carbon sequestration startup, to inject the captured CO2 into the ground for permanent storage.
Octavia expects to inject its first batch of captured carbon by the end of the year, marking one of the world’s earliest projects to convert captured CO2 into rock underground.
Leveraging Kenya’s Unique Geology
Kenya’s Rift Valley region has proven to be a prime location for Octavia’s operations, thanks to its unique geology. The porous volcanic rocks in this area, particularly basalts, offer an ideal environment for CO2 storage.
According to Freimüller, “Kenya is unique in having the East African Rift Valley… The geology is great because it has porous rocks that can store CO2 underground, and the capacity is huge. You could store all of humanity’s cumulative CO2 emissions to date in Kenya.”
Additionally, the country’s abundant renewable energy, especially geothermal, gives Octavia a significant advantage over its competitors in the developed world, where fossil fuels are often used in DAC operations.
Octavia’s use of renewable energy makes its operations more sustainable and cost-effective, positioning it as a global leader in the direct air capture field.
The Global Push for Direct Air Capture
Globally, there are currently 27 DAC plants with a total capture capacity of 0.01 million tonnes of CO2 per year, primarily located in Europe, North America, Japan, and the Middle East.
Among these, only a few, such as Climeworks’ Orca plant in Iceland and facilities by Global Thermostat and Heirloom, capture over 1,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
However, the industry is rapidly expanding, with 130 DAC facilities in development globally, aiming to capture 65 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030 to help achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
How Direct Air Capture Works
Direct air capture uses chemical processes to remove CO2 from ambient air. Large fans pull air into contactor units that contain chemicals designed to absorb CO2.
Once saturated, the CO2 is separated from the contactor materials through heat or other methods, collected, and then compressed for storage or reuse. Geologic storage involves injecting the CO2 into underground reservoirs, where it reacts with minerals like calcium and magnesium to form carbonate rocks, permanently sequestering the CO2.
Unlike traditional carbon capture methods, which target emissions from specific point sources, DAC captures CO2 directly from the open air, making it an effective solution for counteracting emissions from dispersed sources such as transportation.
A Future for Direct Air Capture in Africa
As the world looks to scale up carbon removal solutions, Octavia Carbon is positioning itself at the forefront of this industry in Africa.
With the successful closure of its seed round and the development of its DAC technology, Octavia aims to play a significant role in global efforts to reduce atmospheric CO2 and mitigate climate change.
By leveraging Kenya’s renewable energy resources and favorable geology, Octavia is set to become a major player in the global carbon capture landscape, offering a homegrown solution to one of the world’s most pressing challenges.
