Temasek Trust’s Catalytic Capital for Climate and Health (C3H) has led a US$11.6 million series A funding round in Equatic, a company developing marine carbon removal and green hydrogen technology.

Kibo Invest co-led the round, with participation from the Aga Khan Foundation, Stacey Nicholas, Adam McKay, Lee Cooper, and Grantham Neglected Climate Opportunities.

Equatic uses a patented seawater electrolysis process to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce carbon-negative hydrogen.

The funds will support engineering, commercialization, manufacturing, technological development, and the company’s first large-scale facility targeting 100 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide removal.

Formerly known as SeaChange, Equatic won The Liveability Challenge in 2021 and was a finalist for The Earthshot Prize in 2024.

The company adopted the ISO-14064 standard for MRV, making it one of the only marine companies able to issue high-quality carbon credits under both Isometric and Puro.earth registries.

🔗 Source: Temasek Trust

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Carbon removal startups face massive scaling challenge despite growing market potential

Equatic’s Series A comes at a time when the carbon removal industry confronts an enormous scaling gap that dwarfs current capacity.

Global carbon dioxide removal capacity currently stands at just 41 megatons per year, far below the 1-1.5 gigatons required by 2030-2035 to meet climate targets1.

This means the industry needs to scale by roughly 25-40 times its current capacity within the next decade, creating both significant opportunity and pressure for companies like Equatic.

The projected carbon capture market of $300 billion to $1.2 trillion by 2050 reflects this scaling imperative, but also highlights the massive capital requirements needed to bridge the gap2.

2️⃣ Series A funding shows resilience amid broader climate tech investment decline

Equatic’s successful $11.6 million raise stands out against challenging funding conditions in the climate tech sector.

Global venture investment in climate tech fell to $37.8 billion in 2024, representing a 37.6% drop from the peak in 20213.