3 hours ago
Exacerbated by the intensifying effects of climate change that create warmer and drier conditions, wildfires are a significant environmental threat. While wildfires have always had negative impacts on the environment, these conditions have led to longer, more frequent and active fire seasons. In turn, this has resulted in the loss of carbon sinks (i.e. forests) and the re-release of significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, therefore perpetuating a self-reinforcing feedback loop and ultimately adding to the climate crisis.
Prescribed burning is a key method for preventing devastating megafires by reducing an area’s fuel load, which is the amount of flammable materials that could be consumed by a fire. However, its widespread adoption has been limited by high costs, labor shortages, safety risks, and highly limited weather windows. With the rise of megafires, finding scalable and cost-effective technologies that reduce fuel loads has become more important than ever, which is why we are proud to welcome BurnBot to the Toyota Ventures portfolio.
As part of its mission to prevent destructive wildfires by scaling systematic fuel treatment, BurnBot has developed a remotely operated machine, known as RX1, that conducts fully-contained prescribed burns to treat vegetation. By safely deploying a mobile chamber that contains computer-controlled torches utilizing clean fuel and high oxygen combustion, BurnBot is able to significantly reduce wildfire risk — faster, safer, and in virtually all weather and terrain conditions.
Based in South San Francisco, California, the company was founded in 2022 by technology entrepreneurs Anukool Lakhina, who serves as the CEO, and Lee Hadded, the chief technology officer. Together, the pair has assembled an expert team consisting of firefighters, scientists, engineers, prescribed fire practitioners, and ecologists focused on scaling fuel treatment capacity.
“BurnBot’s technology addresses key gaps in today’s arsenal for preventing and fighting wildfires, specifically cost-effective and scalable solutions for prescribed burns to reduce loads. Wildfires pose significant risks to both people and the planet in terms of health, destruction of property and carbon emissions, and will continue to persist without the necessary tools to cut down overall risk. As global fire seasons continue to intensify, we are proud to support the BurnBot team as they work to provide safer, more precise technology to prevent destructive wildfires.” — Lisa Coca, partner, Toyota Ventures Climate Fund
BurnBot’s core technology has three components that complete the fuel load treatment process at a rate of one acre/hour, as opposed to a traditional process that typically results in one acre/day. To start, drones are initially deployed to map the area that will be treated with a prescribed burn. Data on the density of the vegetation informs the mastication process that follows, where vegetation is mechanically reduced through grinding or shredding, creating firewalls in areas that are prone to fire risk. Then, BurnBot’s RX1 machine is brought in, which synthesizes the entire prescribed fire process inside its main chamber, treating vegetation on a continuous basis as the machine moves forward. If an area is large enough, system-integrated drones are used alongside RX1 machines to drop ignited potassium balls in between the fire walls. Learn more about the RX1 in the technical video below:
The technology is impressively efficient, allowing BurnBot to amplify workforce capacity for conducting safe prescribed burns by 10 times and operating three times more days in a year relative to conventional methods. By minimizing the risk of runaway flames, the RX1 can operate independent of weather conditions, unlike traditional prescribed burns that utilize drip torches and labor, which can only be done during a very limited number of days in a year. BurnBot has piloted the system extensively, including under high voltage transmission lines for Pacific Gas and Electric Company and other numerous lab and field tests.
Toyota Ventures is proud to support the BurnBot team as they work to mitigate the risk of destructive wildfires and build a world that is more resistant to climate change. Toyota Ventures Climate Fund partner Lisa Coca, associate Ethan Sohn and analyst Isay Acenas drove Toyota Ventures’ participation in BurnBot’s $20M Series A round funding round. Led by ReGen Ventures, additional investors included AmFam Ventures, Overture Ventures, Blue Forest, Convective Capital, Pathbreaker Ventures and Lowercarbon Capital.
Visit Burnbot’s website or the Toyota Ventures portfolio page to learn more.