Converting CO₂ Into Carbon-Negative Products: Our Investment in Air Company
By Lisa Coca, Partner, Climate Fund
For some time, the concept of carbon capture, usage and sequestration (CCUS) has been a familiar concept in the landscape of climate change as an important emissions reduction strategy to try and combat climate change. Historically, most of the focus has been on the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) — rather than on carbon usage. However, there are exciting changes afoot.
In recent years, the spotlight on usage has expanded to give rise to undoubtedly one of the most promising sectors in climate tech: “carbontech” and the circular carbon economy (CCE). Focused on taking captured CO2 to transform, or “store” it into value-added products, CCE has the potential to eliminate an estimated 9.3 billion metric tonnes of CO2 by 2050, which is equivalent to more than 20 percent of industrial emissions. Moreover, the end applications for CO2-based products is amazingly diverse, and Carbon 180, has estimated the total addressable market (TAM) for carbon technology companies at $1 trillion annually in the United States, and $5.9 trillion globally.
From our perspective at Toyota Ventures, carbon technology is compelling on all fronts — from the potential positive impact associated with recycling carbon waste that would otherwise pollute the atmosphere, to the potential for a reduced carbon footprint of the value-add products created, and the massive financial opportunity for companies that can scale effectively. For all of these reasons, and more, I am thrilled to announce the Climate Fund’s investment in Air Company.
Founded in 2017, Air Company is a New York-based carbon technology company that has invented technology to transform captured CO2 into carbon-negative alcohols. Air Company won NASA’s CO2 Conversion Challenge, was a finalist in the XPRIZE Carbon Challenge and has demonstrated its technology over more than 8,500 hours of continuous operation. The company is already operating an industrial-scale facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week in Calgary, Canada.
Air Company’s process starts by taking green hydrogen and CO2 captured from either a point source, and feeding them into their Carbon Conversion Reactor. Renewable electricity is used to power its patented reactor, which breaks apart the inputs and reforms them into impurity-free alcohols with O2 and H2O as the only byproducts. In future commercial deployments, Air Company will also power the distillation process using renewable electricity to ensure that the system has minimal carbon emissions end-to-end. Another unique aspect of the company’s proprietary technology is the ability to “tune” its process to yield different products. This will prove invaluable as the team continues to operate within consumer product markets in the near-term, and works to scale the system for commercial-scale production of fuels.
To start, Air Company has focused on unlocking the potential of ethanol-based consumer products such as Air Vodka and, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the addition of a CO2-based hand sanitizer, Air Spray. Most recently, the company also launched Air Eau de Parfum. Long-term, Air Company’s mission is to slow the momentum of climate change by becoming the leader in CO2 utilization for the commercial-scale production of ethanol and sustainable fuels.
Air Company was co-founded by Gregory Constantine (CEO) and Dr. Stafford Sheehan (CTO), a team with deep expertise and a strong track record of execution that has significantly de-risked the technology based on hours of operation. Both leaders have been recognized by Forbes 30-Under-30, and the pair brings a wealth of knowledge that is foundational to the company’s award-winning carbon utilization technology.
Air Company has already established itself as a leader in the CO2-to-fuel carbon technology sector, and we believe it is one of the firms best positioned to displace fossil fuels at scale in the medium term. We look forward to supporting Air Company on its journey and could not be more excited to join the company’s Series A round led by Carbon Direct Capital Management, with participation from JetBlue Technology Ventures and Parley for the Oceans. Visit Air Company’s website and the Toyota Ventures portfolio page to learn more.
