Ebb Carbon Co-Founder and CEO Ben Tarbell
12/13/23 • 70 min
On November 17th, 2023 the average global temperature was temporarily 2 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrialization, an event with ominous climate implications. To slow global climate change, we need to find ways to supercharge natural carbon removal processes like ocean alkalization, and do it in a way that is good for the planet.
That’s exactly what this month’s Watt It Takes Guest, Ben Tarbell, Co-Founder and CEO of Ebb Carbon, is doing.
The team at Ebb is approaching carbon removal in a way that is both novel and as ancient as the ocean itself; integrating with existing facilities that process seawater, they use electrochemistry to remove acidity, and return the alkaline seawater to the ocean where it can then absorb more carbon.
Ebb has raised $23M, has a team of 40, and is deploying their carbon removal system. I spoke to Ben about his journey, from his childhood spent obsessed with building and engineering, to his career in solar, to prototyping the Ebb System in a bathroom-less empty warehouse, to opening Ebb’s first site and starting to meaningfully remove carbon via the ocean.
Sponsors
Watt It Takes is brought to you by Microsoft and Shell Ventures.
The $1 Billion Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund is investing in innovative technologies that have the potential for meaningful, measurable climate impact by 2030. To date, Microsoft has allocated more than $700M into a global portfolio of over 50 investments including sustainable solutions in energy, industrial, and natural systems. Visit microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility/ to learn more about Microsoft’s progress toward their impact commitments.
Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit shell.com/ventures to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth.
About Powerhouse and Powerhouse Ventures
Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations and investors to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate.
Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at powerhouse.fund, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at powerhouse.fund/subscribe.
To hear more stories of founders building our climate positive future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review.
On November 17th, 2023 the average global temperature was temporarily 2 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrialization, an event with ominous climate implications. To slow global climate change, we need to find ways to supercharge natural carbon removal processes like ocean alkalization, and do it in a way that is good for the planet.
That’s exactly what this month’s Watt It Takes Guest, Ben Tarbell, Co-Founder and CEO of Ebb Carbon, is doing.
The team at Ebb is approaching carbon removal in a way that is both novel and as ancient as the ocean itself; integrating with existing facilities that process seawater, they use electrochemistry to remove acidity, and return the alkaline seawater to the ocean where it can then absorb more carbon.
Ebb has raised $23M, has a team of 40, and is deploying their carbon removal system. I spoke to Ben about his journey, from his childhood spent obsessed with building and engineering, to his career in solar, to prototyping the Ebb System in a bathroom-less empty warehouse, to opening Ebb’s first site and starting to meaningfully remove carbon via the ocean.
Sponsors
Watt It Takes is brought to you by Microsoft and Shell Ventures.
The $1 Billion Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund is investing in innovative technologies that have the potential for meaningful, measurable climate impact by 2030. To date, Microsoft has allocated more than $700M into a global portfolio of over 50 investments including sustainable solutions in energy, industrial, and natural systems. Visit microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility/ to learn more about Microsoft’s progress toward their impact commitments.
Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit shell.com/ventures to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth.
About Powerhouse and Powerhouse Ventures
Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations and investors to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate.
Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at powerhouse.fund, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at powerhouse.fund/subscribe.
To hear more stories of founders building our climate positive future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review.
Previous Episode
Charm Industrial Co-Founder and CEO Peter Reinhardt
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we need to return Earth’s atmosphere to 280 parts per million of CO2 for the health of human existence and that of the planet. To achieve that goal, industry experts believe we’ll need to be removing 10-20 billion tons of carbon per year by 2050.
Removing carbon is exactly what this month’s Watt It Takes guest, Peter Reinhardt, Co-Founder and CEO of Charm Industrial, is doing.
The team at Charm has developed a novel process for removing carbon using biomass that is converted to bio-oil via pyrolysis, and then injected into wells deep underground, where it is permanently stored for thousands of years if not millennia. Charm is also developing a process for fossil-free ironmaking.
Charm has raised $125M, has a team of 50, and is scaling their carbon removal operations. I spoke to Peter about Charm’s mission to turn the tide of global climate change with carbon removal; from his childhood as a self identified “hard core math nerd” with a passion for the environment, to his early career as a ridiculously successful tech entrepreneur, to switching gears and delivering a carbon removal process to a planet that needs it now more than ever.
Sponsors
Watt It Takes is brought to you by Shell Ventures and SPAN.
Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit shell.com/ventures to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth.
SPAN are the makers of the award-winning SPAN Panel—a smart electrical panel that enhances how homeowners interact with their energy. Interested in advancing your career at one of the premier companies in Climate Technology or getting SPAN installed in your home? Visit www.span.io to learn more.
About Powerhouse and Powerhouse Ventures
Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations and investors to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate.
Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at powerhouse.fund, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at powerhouse.fund/subscribe.
To hear more stories of founders building our climate positive future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review.
Next Episode
SustainCERT Co-Founder and CEO Marion Verles
Some experts are calling 2024 the “make or break year” for the voluntary and compliance carbon markets, which were rocked by a shaky 2023. To usher in a new era of effective and impactful carbon markets, the verification process needs a major tech update, and a serious credibility boost.
Marion Verles founded SustainCERT to be the first fully digital carbon project verification platform and Scope 3 emissions verification solution.
The team at SustainCERT is employing a novel approach to verify a project’s impact on the carbon cycle, and it starts with building a digital platform where project developers and suppliers can enter, track, and adjust their projects in accordance with valuable data insights.
SustainCERT has raised $47M, has a team of more than 100, and has developed what they describe as the first fully digital carbon project verification platform and, more recently, a Scope 3 emissions verification solution. I spoke to Marion about her journey, from her childhood in the south of France, to founding her first company in Cambodia after starting her career in finance, to launching and leading a digital-first verification platform.
Sponsors
Watt It Takes is brought to you by Microsoft and Shell Ventures.
The $1 Billion Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund is investing in innovative technologies that have the potential for meaningful, measurable climate impact by 2030. To date, Microsoft has allocated more than $700M into a global portfolio of over 50 investments including sustainable solutions in energy, industrial, and natural systems. Visit microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility/ to learn more about Microsoft’s progress toward their impact commitments.
Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit shell.com/ventures to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth.
About Powerhouse and Powerhouse Ventures
Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations and investors to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate.
Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at powerhouse.fund, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at powerhouse.fund/subscribe.
To hear more stories of founders building our climate positive future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review.
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