EDAC Labs, a climate change startup spun out of Johns Hopkins University, has raised $3 million from Boston-based Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment and some angel investors.
The Baltimore-based startup emerged from carbon removal technology developed at Prof. Chao Wang‘s lab at Johns Hopkins University School of Engineering. Its low-cost carbon-capture device creates acid and base using half the energy of conventional processes. EDAC Labs said the funding would help it to demonstrate an ability to capture of one ton of carbon dioxide per day by the end of 2024.
‘Carbon Capture Is Core’
“We’re extremely excited to receive this support from the Grantham Foundation, which validates our core belief that low-cost acid and base is a foundational technology that can hasten decarbonization via air capture and changes in core industrial processes,” said EDAC Labs founder and CEO James Lavin, a serial entrepreneur with degrees from Harvard and Stanford universities.
EDAC Labs’ “core technology significantly reduces the energy required and cost for many carbon removal methods including direct air capture, mining, ocean alkalinity enhancement, and more,” said Cyril Yee, director of Investments at the Grantham Foundation. “This platform technology opens the door for EDAC to both develop projects as well as provide technology to developers around the world.”
Subsequent to the funding, Lee joined EDAC Labs’ board of directors, which includes Lavin, chief operating officer Brian Toll, and Wang, its chief technology officer. Lavin, who has helped startups raise over $300 million, also heads Electron Storage, a firm he founded for consulting on electrical grids and battery technologies.
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Maryland Backing
The electro-synthesizer developed by EDAC Labs enables conventional capture of carbon dioxide from the air to negate negative effects of mining, and can be similarly used to remove carbon dioxide from oceans, and to manage ocean alkalinity and weathering. In July, the company was one of seven startups selected for nonprofit Third Derivative’s First Gigaton Captured Cohort 2. Established by the nonprofits RMI and New Energy Nexus, Third Derivative — aka D3 — aids climate innovation with varied support including funding.
Founded in 1997 by Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham, the Grantham Foundation focuses almost exclusively on climate change mitigation, providing grants as well as making equity investments. It supports over 150 grantees and 90 companies around the world, besides running partnerships with many like-minded groups worldwide. Jeremy is the co-founder and chairman of investment management firm GMO, LLC.
EDAC Labs is also supported by the Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator, which focuses on early-stage technology commercialization in partnership to support the state’s clean energy and climate goals.
