Octavia Carbon, a Kenyan climate tech startup focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, has secured $3.9 million in seed funding. This funding round was co-led by Lateral Frontiers and E4E Africa, with additional support from Catalyst Fund, Launch Africa, Fondation Botnar, and Renew Capital.
Founded in 2022, Octavia Carbon develops Direct Air Capture (DAC) machines that capture carbon dioxide directly from the air. The startup liquefies the captured CO2 and stores it underground through its partnership with Cella Mineral Storage. Carbon dioxide, a major contributor to global warming, is safely stored in the ground to help reduce CO2 pollution.
Martin Freimüller, co-founder and CEO, stated that the new funding will allow the company to scale its carbon removal efforts in Kenya. The startup aims to capture 1,500 tons of carbon annually by 2025. “We’ve developed the technology and are now moving from the lab to field-scale carbon removal,” Freimüller said.
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Octavia Carbon’s vision
Octavia Carbon began capturing carbon in February 2024 and currently operates two DAC machines. The startup plans to expand its capture capacity to 50 tons annually. Furthermore, it will work with Cella to inject liquefied carbon into volcanic rock underground, where it reacts with minerals to form limestone, effectively locking the carbon away.
Kenya’s Rift Valley, rich in porous volcanic rocks, provides an ideal location for this process. Freimüller explained that Kenya’s geology could theoretically store all of humanity’s cumulative CO2 emissions. The abundance of renewable energy, especially geothermal, further strengthens Kenya’s role in Octavia Carbon’s operations. This provides a competitive edge over global peers who rely on fossil fuels.
Octavia Carbon has already pre-sold $1.1 million in carbon credits and has grown its team to 60 professionals, 40 of whom are engineers focused on R&D. Freimüller remains confident in Octavia Carbon’s mission, citing the transformational power of engineering to reduce CO2 pollution and solve complex environmental challenges.
