Dive Brief:
- Carbon removal project developer Varaha has opened a new financing round with a $20 million investment led by WestBridge Capital and launched an industry partnership focused on scaling biochar removals, according to a press release shared with ESG Dive.
- The India-based carbon removal company is seeking around $45 million in this funding round, which will be used for geographic expansion and scientific development, according to the Feb. 4 release.
- The funding will also be used to scale the newly announced partnership program, the Varaha Industrial Partners Program. VIPP will allow companies with industrial gasification capabilities and biomass to use Varaha’s measurement, reporting and verification capabilities, as well as its carbon credit generation tool, the release said.
Dive Insight:
Varaha develops enhanced weathering, afforestation and regenerative agriculture removal projects, in addition to biochar removals. The funding round follows a $30 million investment from sustainable investment firm Mirova in November, which Varaha said would allow it to expand its soil carbon and regenerative agriculture practices. Varaha CEO Madhur Jain previously told ESG Dive it was the largest investment in soil carbon removals to date.
Varaha said the industrial partnership program is already active, and is working with “a large cashew company in West Africa,” India-based agribusiness partners and “a major Indian steel company with decarbonization goals,” according to the release.
“Climate solutions only matter if they scale with integrity,” Varaha’s CEO said in the Feb. 4 release. “If you have biomass and gasification capabilities, we can help you generate verified carbon removal credits. We invite operators globally to join us in scaling climate impact.”
The process of gasification converts biomass or fossil fuel-based carbonaceous materials like coal, municipal solid waste and plastics into gases like carbon dioxide, and the process can also create biochar as a byproduct.
The investment is the first climate tech investment for WestBridge Capital, which has offices in India and the U.S., according to the release. The funding round has also already received participation from prior Varaha investors venture capital firm RTP Global and Omnivore, a venture capital firm focused on India-based agritech.
Varaha is “uniquely positioned to build a global carbon-removal platform from India,” according to WestBridge Capital Co-Founder and Managing Partner Sandeep Singhal. He said in the release that “Varaha has built what very few companies globally have: deep scientific credibility in a nascent industry alongside a commercially viable business model.”
Varaha’s prior deals include carbon removal agreements with Google and food manufacturer Kellanova. Last month, the carbon removal company signed a biochar removal deal with Microsoft, where Varaha will remove 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide for the tech company over three years. Microsoft announced a record soil-carbon removal purchase from Indigo Ag the same day.
As part of the Microsoft project, Varaha is planning to build 18 industrial gasification reactors that will run for 15 years, turning biomass waste into biochar, according to a Jan. 15 release shared with ESG Dive.
Varaha CEO Jain previously told ESG Dive that India is “emerging as a major hub” for carbon removals and that he expected the region to remerge as one of the largest carbon removal supply markets in the world. The country’s latest budget has the equivalent of $2.4 billion in funding slated to support carbon capture, utilization and storage across the country over the next five years, according to reporting from the Carbon Herald.
