Cleantech Startup Avnos Raises $36 Million to Capture Carbon and Water from the Atmosphere
Cleantech startup Avnos announced today that it has raised $36 million, with proceeds from the series A financing round to be used to support the company’s growth and the expansion of its proprietary Direct Air Capture (DAC) carbon removal technology.
Founded in 2020, California-based Avnos offers a proprietary Hybrid Direct Air Capture (HDAC) solution that uses only air, electricity and solid sorbents to capture both water and CO2 from the atmosphere. While most DAC solutions require water and heat to capture carbon, Avnos’ technology does not use water or heat, and produces approximately five tons of water for every ton of carbon dioxide captured, enabling a reduced impact and lower energy costs.
Avnos has been awarded multi-million-dollar projects from the U.S. Department of Energy to demonstrate its HDAC solution in the field, and from the U.S. Office of Naval Research to pilot CO2 capture and e-fuels production.
Proceeds from the new fundraising will be used by the company to grow its team, deploy additional HDAC assets across North America and Europe, and open a research and development facility near New York City.
Will Kain, CEO of Avnos said:
“At Avnos, we believe our novel HDAC technology is the world’s best shot at reaching the much-needed gigaton scale of carbon dioxide removal. We feel the urgency to roll out HDAC more broadly, so as to deliver on the enormous, positive climate and economic opportunities in front of us.”
The Series A round was led by NextEra Energy Resources, and also included participation from investors including Safran Corporate Ventures, Shell Ventures, Envisioning Partners, and Rusheen Capital Management. The funding supplements Avnos’ previously announced capital raises and strategic commercial agreements with Shell Ventures, ConocoPhillips, JetBlue Ventures and the Grantham Foundation.
Rick Clark, Vice President of Strategy and Product Solutions at Nextera Energy Resources said:
“NextEra Energy Resources continues to explore new markets that have the potential to use large quantities of renewable electricity. We believe wind and solar together with Avnos’ technology could provide a viable option to abate emissions from hard-to-decarbonize sectors.”
