Octavia Carbon, a Kenyan startup focused on Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology, has raised $3.9 million in seed funding to scale its carbon removal operations.
The funding round was co-led by Lateral Frontiers and E4E Africa, with participation from Catalyst Fund, Launch Africa, Fondation Botnar, and Renew Capital.
In addition to the equity funding, Octavia secured $1.1 million through advanced sales of carbon credits, pointing to the growing market interest in sustainable carbon capture solutions.
Founded by Martin Freimüller and Duncan Kariuki, Octavia Carbon is the first DAC company in the Global South. The startup aims to leverage Kenya’s abundant geothermal energy and favourable geology to make carbon capture more cost-effective.
Octavia’s current operations include two carbon capture devices with a total capacity of 50 tonnes annually, but the company plans to increase this to 1,500 tonnes per year by 2025. This expansion will coincide with the launch of a carbon storage site operated by its partner, Cella Mineral Storage.
One of the major factors behind Octavia’s decision to establish operations in Kenya is the country’s unique geological landscape. The East African Rift Valley contains basaltic rocks that naturally react with CO2 to form stable carbonate minerals, such as limestone, enabling long-term carbon storage.
Kenya’s renewable energy resources, particularly geothermal power, are also powering the DAC process in an environmentally friendly and cost-efficient manner.
Freimüller noted that Kenya’s geological and energy advantages are essential to the company’s mission, stating, “The capacity of Kenya’s Rift Valley is enormous—large enough to hold all of humanity’s cumulative CO2 emissions.”
Octavia’s goals are set to make the country a hub for cost-effective carbon removal, a necessary step in tackling the global climate issue.
Octavia Carbon has quickly established a strong reputation, becoming a finalist in the Xprize Carbon Removal competition.
The startup has also secured major clients, including the Danish carbon removal marketplace Klimate, and is offering DAC and storage carbon credits as part of its revenue model.
The global DAC industry is growing with over 130 facilities in development aiming to capture 65 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030. Octavia Carbon is boosting the movement towards net-zero emissions by 2050.
