💪 Carbon Removal Funding Remains Strong Amidst Climate Tech Downturn 💪

📊 XPRIZE recently released its fourth annual Circular Carbon (CC) Market Report analysing 2023 investment and growth trends of this emerging industry which encompasses a range of strategies aimed at mitigating climate impact, including Carbon Dioxide Removal (#CDR).

The Circular Carbon Network (CCN) spans over 55 countries and nearly 1,000 companies which have raised over $25.4 billion to date, and constituted 25% of overall investment in Climate Tech in 2023. 

🌍 The report highlights huge progress in the CDR market over the past year: 665 companies in the CCN were CDR companies, an astounding 66%. They raised a total of $5.8B in 2023, reflecting the increasing recognition of CDR's critical role in achieving global carbon neutrality.

Key highlights:

📈 Despite a challenging year for capital markets, including the first downturn in climate tech investments since 2021, the CDR sector experienced a notable surge in funding of $1.7B more capital compared to 2022 as well as a 70% increase in the number of deals compared to the previous year. 

🌱 Remarkably, early-stage CDR ventures captured 13% of all capital within the broader climate tech sector, signalling the thriving investor interest in pioneering carbon removal technologies and their potential to revolutionise our approach to climate change.

💨 Direct Air Capture (#DAC) technologies have emerged as the technology taking on the most investments in the CDR space, securing over half the total raised for carbon removal ($3.1B of the $5.8B). 

🌲 Land-based solutions such as biochar, BECCS, and reforestation raised $2.2B of investment this year. These technologies have not only demonstrated scalability but also efficacy in carbon sequestration, making them attractive to investors and policymakers alike.

🌊 Despite the overall growth in CDR investment, ocean-based and rock-based solutions remain underfunded in comparison ($0.4B and $1.4B respectively). This gap presents an opportunity for targeted investment to unlock the full spectrum of CDR potential, ensuring a balanced and effective approach to carbon removal.

🤔 What do you think? Which areas remain underfunded? What technologies hold the most promise?

 🔗 Full report here.

#carbonmarkets #carbonremoval

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