PR93536

BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Today, Third Derivative (D3) (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3381879-1&h=1999277330&u=https%3A%2F%2Fthird-derivative.org%2F&a=Third+Derivative+(D3)

), a global climate technology startup accelerator, announced a new four-year

partnership with The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3381879-1&h=943395790&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.granthamfoundation.org%2Fabout%2F&a=The+Jeremy+and+Hannelore+Grantham+Environmental+Trust

) --  a leader in catalytic climate funding and environmental protection. The

partnership, First Gigaton Captured (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3381879-1&h=1681417173&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.third-derivative.org%2Ffirst-gigaton-captured&a=First+Gigaton+Captured

), will work to find, fund, and scale the most promising Carbon Removal

startups through a joint effort aimed to massively scale breakthrough negative

emissions technologies.

Third Derivative aligns the world's most promising climate tech startups with

focused investors, corporate partners, and market experts to increase the

success and speed to market of these innovations. The launch of First Gigaton

Captured will support the rapid deployment of viable carbon removal solutions

to full commercial adoption with a dedicated Carbon Capture Cohort of startups

admitted to D3's program in 2022.

"Innovation and technology are our only hopes for solving climate change and

building a sustainable future. At the Grantham Foundation, we believe that

early stage startups are the most potent force for innovation. Launching First

Gigaton Captured with Third Derivative will push forward climate technology and

commercialize carbon capture faster -- it's the kind of initiative that is

absolutely needed," says Jeremy Grantham.

According to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report

(

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3381879-1&h=1648329691&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipcc.ch%2Fsr15%2F&a=special+report

) on the impacts of global warming, we may need to remove 2-20 billion tons of

CO2 from our atmosphere per year, starting in 2050 to prevent further

catastrophic climate damage. To achieve this staggering level of annual

drawdown, we must fast-track every safe, cost-effective and scalable approach

possible to directly pull CO2 out of the air. As part of this portfolio of

negative emissions technologies, direct-air-capture is a critical "insurance

policy" given its potential to pull gigatons of CO2 directly from the

atmosphere every year and lock it up in permanent, sequestered storage.

But the primary challenge with durable carbon removal solutions like DAC is

that these approaches are still new and far too expensive to scale--which First

Gigaton Captured is committed to addressing.

The goal of this new initiative? Work to reduce the cost of durable carbon

removal to less than one hundred dollars per ton and provide the necessary

support to help the world's best carbon removal innovations achieve

gigaton-scale carbon capture by 2050. This is an ambitious aim, but with the

right stakeholders, D3 believes it is possible to greatly accelerate the

implementation of these new technologies through an ecosystem-focused approach

to accelerating climate innovations.

Key elements of the First Gigaton Captured partnership include:

    1. Leveraging the expertise of Third Derivative (D3) and the RMI to

       deliver a body of research that finds and highlights the most promising

       carbon capture and removal pathways.

    2. Launching a deeply-resourced D3 Carbon Capture Cohort in 2022,

       supporting the market's most-promising carbon capture startups with

       deployable and high impact solutions. This will include scientific

       and market experts to support technical advancement and direct funding

       opportunities to help startups advance their systems to integrated

       pilot scale.  

    3. Unlocking a significant amount of catalytic capital to accelerate

       the technical development of high impact DAC solutions, including

       funding proof-of-concepts, pilots, and first-of-a-kind commercial

       facilities.

    4. Cultivating the market demand for high quality carbon removal with

       leading corporate partners.

In addition to the Grantham Trust partnership, Third Derivative is also excited

to introduce their newest cohort of startups at their Second Annual Global

Summit (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3381879-1&h=2420896388&u=https%3A%2F%2Fthird-derivative.org%2Fsummit-2021%2F&a=Summit

) on December 7-8, 2021, with the first day open to the public. Cohort 419 (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3381879-1&h=930705876&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.third-derivative.org%2Fportfolio%2Ftag%2Fcohort-419&a=Cohort+419

) includes 16 impressive startups chosen from over 200 applicants. More than

half of this year's startups have diverse representation among senior

leadership -- a metric D3 is committed to continuously improving and growing.

This new group of 16 startups joins the 46 current climate tech startups

currently in Third Derivative's global accelerator program.

"The role of accelerator programs, investors, and innovators as leaders in the

mission to combat the climate crisis is more important than ever. The D3 and

Grantham Trust partnership is a tremendous move in the right direction to find

and fund startups with negative emissions technologies," says Danny Kennedy,

CEO of New Energy Nexus and D3 Board Chair.

D3 is always looking for new startups to join the accelerator program. If you

have an innovative idea to help address emissions challenges, you can apply for

Third Derivative's general cohort here. Applications for the Carbon Capture

Cohorts will open in Q1 of 2022.

If you're a corporate partner, technical advisor, or investor interested in

helping to find, fund, and scale the most promising carbon capture startups,

please fill out this contact form to express your interest here.

D3 is hopeful that this initiative will accelerate the speed of carbon capture

innovation and deployment, supporting the path to gigaton-scale capture by 2050.

About Third Derivative

Founded in 2020 by RMI and New Energy Nexus, Third Derivative (D3) is

accelerating the rate of climate innovation. D3's inclusive ecosystem rapidly

finds, funds, and scales climate tech globally. By uniting and aligning

committed investors, large corporations, and market and policy experts with the

world's most promising climate tech startups, D3 bridges finance and resource

gaps to increase the speed to market. D3's flexible and highly curated

accelerator program enables startups to focus on their unique needs and

opportunities. Together, we are moving markets to achieve an equitable climate

future.

For more information, visit https://third-derivative.org

About The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust

The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust is a public charity and

509(a)(3) supporting organization focused on reducing and reversing global

environmental degradation. Its independent trustees are the CEOs of Rare, The

Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund US and Rocky Mountain Institute. The

Grantham Foundation and Grantham Trust invest to redesign our energy systems;

to improve soil health; to spare the ocean from acidification and recapture

carbon from the atmosphere.

To learn more, visit https://www.granthamfoundation.org

Media Contact

Libby Dugan | libby@leapgrow.co

SOURCE  Third Derivative