Supercritical, a carbon removal marketplace, has raised $13 million in a Series A funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The round also included participation from RTP Global, Greencode Ventures, MMC Ventures, and others. The funding will be used to expand Supercritical’s team, enhance its product offering, and acquire more customers.
Supercritical aims to accelerate the scaling of carbon removal technologies by aggregating business demand and introducing new purchase models. The marketplace allows corporations to purchase fully qualified carbon removal credits, following the industry standard Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), to achieve net zero emissions. Traditional emissions avoidance offsets are not sufficient for businesses to achieve full net zero, making carbon removal essential.
However, the current capacity for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is far below what is required. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that substantial CDR at scale is necessary to limit global average temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius. In 2022, only around 600,000 tonnes of CDR were purchased, a minute fraction of the 10 gigatonnes needed annually by 2050.
Supercritical is leading efforts to scale the CDR market by focusing on high-quality, vetted, and durable CDR projects. These projects include engineered solutions like biochar, direct air capture (DAC), enhanced weathering, and nature-based solutions such as afforestation. Supercritical has a rigorous vetting process, with only 6% of projects meeting its criteria.
By aggregating demand from corporate buyers, Supercritical acts as a market maker, helping CDR projects scale. The company also pioneers innovative purchase agreements to drive accelerated growth in CDR capacity. For example, it recently facilitated a long-term offtake agreement for biochar provider Carbo Culture, enabling the pre-purchase of large quantities of biochar and supporting the development of a commercial-scale facility.
Supercritical is already one of the world’s largest carbon removal marketplaces, with 35% of corporate purchases occurring through its platform. It works with ambitious businesses such as Tide, the first fintech to remove 100% of their emissions, and XTX Markets, one of the top 10 global purchasers of CDR. Moving forward, Supercritical plans to hire more talent, enhance its product offerings, and expand its customer base. The funding round was conducted with a gender-balanced cap table, aligning with Supercritical’s commitment to diversity.
