Carbon Direct: The $160 Trillion Market Hiding in Plain Sight

There’s an untapped $160 trillion market teeming with potential and on the verge of surging with economic activity — and one company in particular is building a carbon science dream team to take advantage. That market: carbon dioxide.

 
Carbon Direct’s mission is to “combine science, technology, and capital to deliver quality CO2 management at scale.” They’re working to reverse the most devastating effects of climate change — simultaneously turning carbon dioxide into the world’s largest commodities market.

There’s only one problem: we’re running out of time. As a global society, we have to deploy technology at remarkable speed and scale (shout out to John Doerr) to have any real chance of slowing and reversing the rise in temperature. Carbon Direct wants to help by pairing major companies with science-backed solutions for decarbonization and helping growth stage climate tech companies scale faster.

On one side of the house, they are building a juggernaut of an advisory business, working with clients like Microsoft, Shopify, and Alaska Airlines. Their client portfolio has a carbon footprint of over 650 million tons of emissions per year or 2% of the annualized global emissions of 34.8 billion tons in 2020. Meanwhile, Carbon Direct is also building a growth stage investment fund to grow the connective tissue of the carbon market — from point-source carbon capture and green hydrogen to carbon-neutral chemicals and concrete.

Carbon Direct is positioning itself as a major power player as we race to decarbonize the global economy over the next 30 years. In spending the past month deeply researching their history and approach, I’ve become fascinated by their founder, chief scientist, and overall operations. By the end of this essay, hopefully you will be too.

Let’s get to it, starting with how an oil and gas trader becomes one of the loudest advocates for science-backed carbon removal.

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Πηγή: barrettbrooks.com