Decarbonization Partners, a partnership between BlackRock and Temasek, on Tuesday announced that it has led a $69-million funding in Swiss carbon removal provider Neustark. Climatetech growth investor Blume Equity also participated in the round.
The investment is expected to fuel Neustark’s growth path and support its mission to permanently remove 1 million tonnes of CO2 in 2030.
According to the company statement, the new investors joined Neustark’s existing backers Holcim, Siemens Financial Services, Verve Ventures, and ACE Ventures. In addition, UBS has contributed capital to the round via debt financing.
Neustark will benefit from Decarbonization Partners’s global platform and reach, including access to corporations and investors throughout North America and Asia Pacific, along with its dedicated decarbonisation specialists, the statement read. Additionally, Blume Equity has a comprehensive climate network and extensive experience scaling disruptive climate technology companies throughout Europe.
With their partnership, alongside Neustark’s existing investors—all of who possess extensive technology investment portfolios— the Swiss firm will expand its team and enhance its offerings to meet the increasing global demand for carbon dioxide removal.
“With carbon capture, utilisation, and storage being one of our key investment focuses, we believe that we have found a perfect partner to help scale the industry – and ultimately its decarbonisation impact – in the years to come. Neustark not only helps organisations integrate carbon removal to address their hard-to-abate emissions, but their solution also contributes to decarbonising the construction industry,” said Meghan Sharp, Global Head & Chief Investment Officer of Decarbonization Partners.
Decarbonization Partners announced the final close of its inaugural late-stage venture capital and growth private equity investment fund at $1.4 billion, exceeding its target of $1 billion, in April this year.
The vehicle is focused on investing in next-generation private companies that support the acceleration of decarbonisation and transition to a net-zero economy.
Apart from BlackRock and Temasek, the fund vehicle received commitments from over 30 institutional investors including public and private pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, corporates, and family offices.
Investors in the fund include Allstate, BBVA, KIRKBI, Mizuho Bank Ltd., MUFG Bank Ltd, and TotalEnergies, among others.
Neustark has sold nearly 120,000 tonnes of carbon removal to date, making it one of Europe’s fastest-growing carbon removal companies, with clients including Microsoft, UBS, and NextGen, according to the company statement.