Impact Investing with Moonshot: Driving Change with Cleantech Innovations
Every year, around 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) are released into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change and threatening the future of our planet. In response to this crisis, a powerful transformation is underway: the transition to clean energy to enable net-zero emissions.
Clean energy is rapidly becoming the new standard, driven by innovations in carbon capture, solar fuels, etc., that turn once-distant dreams into reality. The problem, however, is that despite the progress made, the speed at which clean energy (wind and solar) generation needs to scale has to grow fourfold (from a 2% increase between 2012-2022 to 8% in 2022-2032) to meet current global net-zero commitments.
Consequently, McKinsey suggests an additional USD 4 trillion?of investments could be needed per year compared to 2020 to reach the net-zero. Yet, the government support surely isn’t enough. It’s about each and every one of us taking care of our mother Earth, so she can take care of us – and this is where impact investing comes in.
Investors, seeking to deploy their wealth in a way that benefits the environment and society, whilst also generating a financial return, are poised to play a crucial role in bridging the gap between rising carbon emissions and the net-zero goal, according to Vontobel.
As recognition grows around the urgency of addressing climate change and transitioning to sustainable energy sources, the cleantech sector is seeing a spike in investment. According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, clean energy technology investment will reach nearly USD 800 billion in 2024 and USD 1 trillion by 2030.
At Moonshot, we embrace this approach, enabling our members access to investments in groundbreaking cleantech companies like Climeworks, Synhelion, and Commonwealth Fusion Systems that we believe are poised to drive the greatest change. This approach seeks to capitalize on significant value-creation opportunities while contributing to global sustainability goals. These companies are not just transforming their industries; they are pioneering solutions that redefine our relationship with the environment.
Climeworks – Leading the Charge in Carbon Removal
Climeworks is a pioneer in carbon capture technology, dedicated to protecting the planet and ensuring a livable future. Founded in 2009 by engineers Jan Wurzbacher and Christoph Gebald at ETH Zurich, Climeworks has grown from a small company to a global leader in direct air capture (DAC) technology.
Climeworks captures CO? directly from the air using DAC+S technology, then stores it permanently underground in partnership with Carbfix, where it reacts with basalt rock and turns to stone. This process is crucial in combating both current and historical emissions.
Direct air capture, which extracts carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere, holds immense promise for reducing climate change and achieving net zero by 2050. However, current costs are around USD 1’000 per tonne of CO? captured, making it prohibitively expensive. Like the solar power sector, which saw a 90% price reduction from 2000 to 2024 due to economies of scale and technological advancements, DAC is expected to follow a similar cost-reduction trajectory.
DAC facilities are modular, comprising several boxes with fans and filters, which allows for significant cost reductions as production scales up. The International Energy Agency emphasizes the potential for significant reductions in costs throughout the Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) value chain as the technology matures. CCUS encompasses technologies and processes designed to capture and store or utilize carbon dioxide (CO?) emissions from various sources, such as industrial operations and power plants.
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Historical data indicates a 35% cost reduction in CO? collection in the electricity sector from the first to the second large-scale CCUS installation. With these trends, DAC is expected to become increasingly cost-effective, paving the way for widespread adoption in large-scale carbon removal efforts.
A major milestone in this journey towards increased efficiency in the CCUS field is Climework’s recent launch of the Mammoth, the world's largest direct air capture and storage facility. Located in Iceland, the Mammoth can capture up to 36,000 tons of CO? per year, a tenfold increase in capacity over its predecessor, Orca. This significant increase in capacity demonstrates the potential for scaling up DAC technology and brings Climeworks closer to its goal of reaching the megaton scale by 2030 and the gigaton scale by 2050.
Read the full article on our website to find out how we enable our members to access investments in groundbreaking cleantech companies like Climeworks, Synhelion, and Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
Moonshot is a globally active network of accredited investors, including visionary entrepreneurs, scientists, specialists, and like-minded individuals or institutions that join forces to access opportunities in private markets, foster networking and self-growth, curate knowledge, and enjoy unique privileges.
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Senior Consultant (Retired Chem. Eng.), DI
5 个月Thanks for sharing. This seems to be one of the most potential innovation process with major potential for major scale implementation Plants.