Ms Keeling – the former CEO of the eponymous family-owned fruit and veg producer Keelings – was an early investor in the Dublin-headquartered climate tech business. She joins as its first female board member, where she will sit alongside former taoiseach Enda Kenny, among others.
She told the Irish Independent she hopes her family’s company could use its technology.
“I’ve witnessed first-hand over the last 30 years how climate has impacted crop production,” she said. “Certain foods are no longer available in some regions, while others emerge and can be newly grown.
The business is working with London-based merchant bank Africa Merchant Capital on the funding. Stock image: Getty
“I’ve examined natural carbon solutions, but am convinced DAC will play a significant role in addressing climate change – other methods of reduction won’t happen quickly enough.
“Many commercial greenhouses use electricity, hot water and CO2 from gas-generated power. Carbon Collect’s technology could transform this from being carbon intensive to carbon neutral. I could foresee it being used in Keelings’ operations,” she said.
To date, the DAC company has raised $15m in equity funding plus $5m in US government grants since it was founded in 2018. The planned $70m to $80m raise over the coming year will be in stages, its CEO Pól Ó Móráin said.
The business is working with London-based merchant bank Africa Merchant Capital on the funding, although other financiers may also play a role. Follow-on investment from existing backers is anticipated, alongside the new capital, he added.
Two Irish companies are among the international partners that have helped Carbon Collect to reach Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 with its second-generation “mechanical tree” system. Engineering firm PM Group and Westmeath plastics and composites producer Mergon, both of which have US operations.
In the medium term, Carbon Collect aims to achieve capture costs of $200 per tonne by 2030
Only a small number of DAC businesses have achieved this milestone. The Bill Gates-backed, Swiss-headquartered Climeworks has achieved TRL 7-8, according to reports, having raised about $1bn.
An indication of valuations and potential acquirers emerged when Canadian DAC startup Carbon Engineering was at TRL 6-7, having raised just over $100m by 2023.
In the medium term, Carbon Collect aims to achieve capture costs of $200 per tonne by 2030.
When extended, the mechanical trees look not unlike larger versions of air purifiers that might be used in homes and offices.
The second-generation mechanical tree uses automated manufacturing and eliminates tariff-sensitive materials and rare metals, making it simpler to make, lighter to transport and cheaper to deploy, Mr Ó Móráin explained.
A third-generation system will be deployable in a cluster of 18, with a 1,000-tonne capacity. The following one will be scalable to capture 50,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. Success with the former would represent TRL 8 – when commercial deployment is viable, with a target date of next September, Mr Ó Móráin added.
Carbon Collect’s initial deployment of the mechanical trees will be at the US Department of Energy-funded Southwest Regional DAC Hub in Arizona.
‘Climate tech isn’t just about the environment; it’s about reshaping manufacturing, materials science and how we approach industrial chemistry,’ said Ó Moráin. Stock image/Getty
The Biden government previously committed $3.5bn for a number of them. However, the company’s project is among only a minority that have survived Trump administration cuts.
Next year’s mid-term US elections may herald more supportive policy, Mr Ó Móráin added, with a hope that a pioneering state might fund a million-tonne DAC hub.
Carbon Collect is also talking to a number of large tech companies about co-location with data centres.
There are cross-disciplinary opportunities for universities and businesses here to work with Carbon Collect
Future data centre sites could function as hubs for various types of renewable energy generation, including battery storage, alongside CO2 capture and usage, he suggested.
In South Africa, the company is developing a cluster at a 1.8km-deep carbon storage well, with funding from its government and the World Bank.
In Europe, revenue opportunities may emerge around initial adjacent use cases. Producing CO2 for beer production, as well as in greenhouse operations, can be cheaper than existing methods.
There are cross-disciplinary opportunities for universities and businesses here to work with Carbon Collect – particularly in the areas of advanced materials, data analytics, and chemical engineering, building IP and developing the supply chain, he said.
“Climate tech isn’t just about the environment; it’s about reshaping manufacturing, materials science and how we approach industrial chemistry.”