Carbon Ridge Inc., a developer of modular onboard carbon-capture and storage systems for the maritime industry, has raised $6 million.
The financing enables Carbon Ridge of Santa Monica to continue the development of the company’s technology for an onboard pilot project next year.
The company’s technology is mounted next to a vessel’s exhaust funnel. The gas is then routed through a process where carbon dioxide and the exhaust gas are separated, leaving clean gas to flow back into the funnel.
The funding was led by the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, with additional investment from Crowley Maritime Corp. and Berge Bulk, as well as Rusheen Capital Management and Plug and Play Ventures.
“We believe onboard carbon capture and storage will be the lowest cost and most efficient pathway to achieve near-term decarbonization in the maritime industry,” said Chase Dwyer, founder and chief executive of Carbon Ridge. “We are very excited about partnering with The Grantham Foundation, Crowley and Berge Bulk, as leaders in their respective sectors, each with strong commitments to long-term climate stabilization.”
Grantham Foundation invests to redesign energy systems, improve soil health, spare the ocean from acidification and directly recapture carbon from the atmosphere.
“Shipping will be one of the most difficult industries to decarbonize. We believe that Carbon Ridge’s maritime carbon capture systems will be cost-effective, ubiquitous and ultimately bend down the curve of shipping emissions,” Kevin Tidwell, managing director at Grantham Foundation, said.
Crowley is a privately held, U.S.-owned and operated maritime, energy and logistics company serving commercial and government sectors.
“Crowley’s ambition is to become the most sustainable and innovative maritime, logistics company in the Americas,” said Tom Crowley, chairman and chief executive of Crowley.
“Investing in and developing cleaner, low-carbon solutions will be critical in reaching the maritime industry’s decarbonization goals. Carbon Ridge’s novel approach to significantly lessen the impact of maritime emissions aligns with our target sustainability goals and we are pleased to support the scale-up of their technology.”
“We believe in the potential of onboard carbon capture and storage as one of the effective solutions to enable Berge Bulk’s commitment towards zero emissions,” added James Marshall, chief executive of Berge Bulk. “Our partnership with Carbon Ridge is a strong step forward in achieving those goals and consistent with our broader sustainability mission.”
