Carbominer, a Ukrainian start-up, has received a €1.5 million grant from the EU's EIC Accelerator Fund programme to implement its modular Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology for capturing carbon from the air.
The company offers to use the captured CO2 to a number of customers, including farmers, Carbominer reports.
The company said that the startup will also be able to apply for €7.5 million in funding for the next stages of the project. Carbominer is to improve the technology and produce plants with a capacity of 50 and 250 tonnes per year within four years.
It is noted that the captured carbon can be used in greenhouse or vertical farming. CO2 from non-fossil fuels can increase yields by 30%.
Carbominer said that the startup was founded in 2020 by Ukrainian innovator Nick Oseyko. The first small research laboratory was launched in March 2020, and in October it was expanded to a full-scale center thanks to an investment from the Ukrainian fund SMRK VC. In September 2021, the first MVP machine was built, and during full-scale war, an improved prototype was produced.
The announcement added that the EIC Accelerator provides financing to innovative startups, high-risk small and medium-sized businesses that can contribute to rapid economic growth and sustainability.
It is noted that Carbominer became the second Ukrainian startup to receive funding from the EIC Accelerator under the new program starting in 2021. Thus, in 2022, the Releaf Paper project, which produces paper from fallen leaves, received a grant.
As EcoPolitic reported earlier, in the summer of 2023, the Ukrainian startup Releaf Paper began building in France the first factory for the production of eco-packaging from fallen leaves.
