There’s a startup with a new approach to capturing methane: microbes.
What’s happening:
- Windfall Bio has raised $28M USD in a new Series A financing round
- The round was led by Prelude Ventures and included participation from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund
The big idea:
- Windfall Bio leverages methane eating microbes that are able to capture methane from any source, while simultaneously capturing nitrogen from the air to produce organic fertilizer
- For farmers and agriculture operators, this process both naturally improves soil health and also significantly reduces their overall greenhouse gas emissions
Why it matters:
- Finding ways to reduce methane emissions is one of the most important areas of climate tech, given that methane emissions are significantly more potent than carbon dioxide emissions
Going deeper:
- Windfall Bio has numerous notable backers, including Bill Gate’s venture capital fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures and legendary Silicon Valley venture capital fund Mayfield
The intrigue:
- Finding ways to reduce methane emissions has been on the rise, with startups pursuing everything from new types of feed to reduce cow burps to using satellites to monitor energy infrastructure