Recently, we had the privilege to announce that we are backing Supercritical - a cutting-edge marketplace for carbon removal. Let's take a look at some of the reasons we believe it will be the next success-story.
Carbon reduction not enough for reaching net-zero target
According to scientific community, carbon reduction and offsetting alone will not be enough to reach net-zero and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by 2050. Carbon offsets focus on not emitting new emissions. Examples are replacing fossil energy sources with renewables or energy efficiency measures.
Carbon removal is about taking CO2 out of the atmosphere. There are both nature based and technical removal methods. Nature based methods are for example afforestation, biochar or enhanced weathering. Technical methods refer to direct air capture technologies. Supercritical offers all of them.
Carbon removal is estimated to be a billion euro market by 2030
Even though we are in an early phase, the market is moving towards carbon removal. Drivers of that market adoption are regulation, recent scandals on traditional carbon offset projects and motivation of many companies contributing to net-zero. Carbon removal is estimated to be approximately a €2bn market by 2030.
Business model stipulating and growing supply and demand by aggregation
Supercritical addresses this enormous market opportunity with their digital marketplace for carbon removal. Their solution allows customers to buy multiple removal methods in a single transaction. The company also offers carbon accounting which allows customers to assess their footprint and develop a plan towards net-zero.
Proven team with impact and growth ambition
Supercritical was founded in 2021 by Michelle You and Arron Randall. They already have a track as pioneers and entrepreneurs. Together they founded songkick, backed by Sequoia and Index Ventures and successfully exited to Warner Brother Music. In our view they do not only bring the experience of building a venture, creating a successful marketplace but also have the ambition level to build an outstanding company defining a new market category.
Set-up of complementary strength
Lightspeed Venture Partners led the $13m series A round, complemented by MMC Ventures, RTP Global and Greencode Ventures. We foresee this to be a powerful constellation for future growth. At Greencode we are looking forward to contributing to Supercritical´s success as climate tech and green transition specialists.
Are you building the next big thing in the climate space? Reach out to us at hello@greencode.vc and let's have a chat!