Alt Carbon, the newest company to join the growing carbon removal ecosystem, officially launched in late 2023. Shrey Agarwal & Sparsh Agarwal, co-founders Shrey and Sparsh have led this novel initiative. The company is committed to being a part of the solution to climate change. By 2030, they aim to offset five million tons of carbon across the Indian region. Alt Carbon has an interesting business model that focuses on accelerating rock weathering on existing agricultural lands. The researchers used waste basalt rock dust from the volcanic igneous province of Rajmahal Traps in Eastern India.
To reconnect farmers and consumers, the company has created a special mixture named Hari Maati. This secret mixture of basalt rock dust and organic compost is called “green soil” in Hindi. It’s this unusual synthesis that’s at the heart of Alt Carbon’s carbon removal strategy. The company operates under rigorous protocols defined by carbon removal registries such as Isometric and Puro.earth. To do this, it ensures the highest quality outcomes in generating carbon credits.
Alt Carbon attracted attention when it raised $12 million in a recent seed funding round led by Lachy Groom. This investment comes on the heels of a $500,000 pre-purchase agreement with Frontier finalized last year. It follows from a big $1 billion advanced market commitment spearheaded by other big tech companies including Stripe, Alphabet, Meta, Shopify and McKinsey. These capital raising initiatives put Alt Carbon in prime position to be a leader in the growing carbon removal industry.
According to Alt Carbon, their carbon credits have a floor price of $270 per metric ton. The company is looking forward to completing its first carbon credits delivery within a month. This successful transition through Isometric also represents an important victory within Isometric’s operational history.
Alt Carbon employs cutting-edge practices, and has established research & training labs in Darjeeling and Bengaluru. They have 25 staff (of which 8 – 10 are PhD researchers), whose commitment to pushing the scientific envelope keeps them on the cutting edge. That skilled workforce is integral to bringing the company’s three-layer measurement system to life. They’re constantly monitoring the degree of weathered rock and measuring the resulting carbon removal.
Alt Carbon recently signed an offtake agreement with Japan’s MOL Group. As part of this agreement, they will be buying 10,000 tons of carbon removal credits, demonstrating Alt Carbon’s focus on building a more diverse, robust market. The company’s ambitious vision includes scaling operations to cover 500,000 hectares of farmland, significantly amplifying its impact on carbon sequestration.
Sparsh Agarwal for a high-quality carbon market.
“Within carbon markets, our realization was that a lot of the projects in India, which are more avoidance-based, are of very low quality, and they produce junk credits.”
This announcement highlights Alt Carbon’s mission to offer the best carbon credits, produced by the most scientifically validated methods available.
As we all know, the urgency to fight climate change is increasing globally. Alt Carbon’s efforts have the potential to make a major impact by accelerating carbon removal efforts across India. Through tapping local resources, the company employs cutting-edge techniques. Most importantly, it seeks to be a catalyst for creating a more sustainable future while raising the bar for quality in the rapidly emerging carbon credit marketplace.
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