Breakthrough Energy Ventures Leads Series A for Graphyte Biomass Carbon Storage Removing CO₂ Permanently
Breakthrough Energy Ventures led the first funding round for Graphyte, a carbon removal startup spun out of the ARPA-E-funded Rice University biomass-burial research, which compresses agricultural and forestry residues — rice hulls, sawmill waste, cotton gin trash — into dense, moisture-free blocks and buries them in dry geological formations for thousands of years. Unlike reforestation, which stores carbon temporarily in living trees, Graphyte's process is permanent and does not require ongoing land management. The company claimed a cost of under $100 per tonne at scale.
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March 2025
Breakthrough Energy Ventures Invests in Savor — Butter Made Directly from Carbon
Breakthrough Energy Ventures backed Savor, a startup that produces butter using carbon dioxide and hydrogen — derived from atmospheric carbon and water — without any conventional agriculture, animals, or farmland. Savor's thermochemical process generates saturated fat with an identical molecular profile to dairy butter while using an estimated 99.9 percent less water and zero agricultural land. The product launched at Michelin-starred restaurants in 2025, with supermarket availability targeted for 2027, as part of Gates's broader bet on food-system decarbonisation.
2024
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst Invests $40 Million in Deep Sky Carbon Removal
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst — Gates's industrial decarbonisation investment vehicle — committed $40 million to Deep Sky, a Quebec-based company developing commercial direct air capture facilities across Canada. The investment marked Catalyst's first in the DAC sector. Deep Sky's Alpha facility in Alberta is designed as a testing ground for multiple next-generation carbon removal technologies, with the goal of proving the cost trajectory needed to make DAC viable at planetary scale.
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