Brilliant Planet Closes $12 Million Funding for Carbon Capture

London, England-based Brilliant Planet Limited (formerly Susewi Ltd), a nature-based carbon capture and storage company, has announced the closing of its oversubscribed $12 million Series A funding. The raise was co-led by Union Square Ventures and Toyota Ventures, and included follow-on investors Future Positive Capital, AiiM Partners, S2G Ventures, Hatch and Pegasus Tech Ventures.

Following four years of trials at its research facility in Morocco, Brilliant Planet will use the proceeds of the Series A round to prepare for construction of a 30-hectare commercial demonstration facility while continuing its fundamental R&D program based in London. 

Brilliant Planet is supported by partners including UK Research & Innovation, Scottish Association of Marine Science and Southampton University across a range of research initiatives such as remote sensing, oceanography, sensor development and fluid dynamics.  

“Nature-based solutions to climate change are normally the most scalable and cost-effective but it is often difficult to verify the amount of carbon removed by these methods and the permeance of the storage,” said Adam Taylor, CEO of Brilliant Planet. “On the other hand, man-made solutions such as direct air capture can be easily verified but are prohibitively expensive due to the significant inputs of energy, chemicals and fresh water required.” 

“Brilliant Planet has now developed a uniquely cost-effective, scalable and verifiable nature-based system that delivers on all requirements,” he said. “With the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) confirming that tremendous amounts of carbon will need to be removed from the atmosphere to limit global warming to 1.5°c, we feel that this is the right solution at the right time.”

Raffael Jovine, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder added, “By using empty desert and seawater that would not have otherwise come to the surface, our solution creates ‘new’ Net Primary Productivity. In other words, we employ under-utilized natural resources to grow new biomass and draw down excess carbon dioxide. Per unit area this approach sequesters up to 30 times more carbon per year than rainforests, while it also de-acidifies the local coastal seawater back to pre-industrial levels.”

John Buttrick of Union Square Ventures will be joining the Board of Directors. “With many of the world’s largest companies announcing net-zero targets each month, we expect substantial growth in demand for high quality carbon credits over the next few years,” he said. “This presents an important opportunity for companies that can quickly scale carbon removal while meeting the quality standards demanded by sophisticated companies. We believe Brilliant Planet is uniquely positioned to do so.”