Australian carbon farming startup launches $US50 million funding round

Date:04-14-2022

An Australian agtech startup that makes it easier for farmers to claim carbon credits is looking to go global, opening a $US50 million ($A67.3 million) Series B funding round to finance its expansion.

Carbon Count is a cloud-based end–to–end platform that helps farmers to streamline the management of soil carbon projects.

Previously, measuring the amount of carbon in the soil had been a complex process. Farmers needed to do complex calculations to estimate the carbon in their soil, identify how many soil samples to take (and where to take them), and then figure out the right tests to use. Then there were the ongoing challenges of working out annual farm emissions, and any deviations from the baseline.

Carbon Count’s platform makes the process a lot easier by streamlining the workflow, with its algorithms taking care of the calculations. It also reduces the paperwork involved with applying for carbon credits, by integrating with the Clean Energy Regulator’s Emissions Reduction Fund framework.

The company estimates its software can reduce the cost of running a soil carbon project by half, making it easier and more profitable for farmers to earn carbon credits by sequestering carbon.

The bootstrap startup was founded in 2018 by Phil Mulvey, who had previously started (and is still involved with) the environmental services consultancy EESI Group. After many years in development, the company’s software was launched to the public in August 2021.

Based in Footscray, in Melbourne’s western suburbs, the company currently has around 12 employees.

Carbon Count claims to have received interest from farmers in a number of overseas markets, including the US, Canada, Ireland, North Africa, Argentina, Belgium, Lithuania and Switzerland. If the raise is successful, the company plans to use the funds to tap into these international opportunities.

“Carbon Count is built to be the platform that project managers, investors, governments and landholders can count on. It’s our industry’s responsibility to create mechanisms that ensure compliance and uphold the integrity of our schemes,” Mr Mulvey said in a statement.