Carbon & Negative Emissions: From Capture to Commercial Scale

Carbon capture and negative emissions technologies are racing to scale. Engineering breakthroughs are vital, but the bigger challenge is commercialization.

Founders face recurring pain points:

• Who will buy or fund their captured carbon?

• How to structure offtake agreements with emitters or carbon markets?

• How to finance large-scale projects while proving reliability?

Without these answers, investors hesitate. A promising capture device with no pathway to revenue becomes a stranded asset.

The difference between technology that scales and technology that stalls often comes down to execution not engineering. The carbon removal space is full of promising ideas that never made it past the pilot stage because they couldn’t prove commercial traction.

Why Commercial Strategy Makes or Breaks Carbon Tech
Nori and Charm Industrial provide good examples of just how much strategy matters once the science is sound. Nori was founded in 2017 in Seattle as a carbon marketplace aimed to help farmers sell soil carbon credits directly to buyers. Despite raising over $17 million and partnering with major players like Bayer AG, Nori ultimately shut down in 2024 citing a stagnant voluntary carbon market and limited investor appetite. The problem wasn’t the idea but the absence of a strong commercial foundation. Nori focused on building the supply side but failed to secure large-scale, long-term offtake agreements with industrial emitters or corporate buyers which left it vulnerable when voluntary credit demand softened.

Charm Industrial took the opposite approach. It secured a $53 million offtake deal with the Frontier Climate coalition, which was backed by Stripe, Google, Meta and others, to remove 112,000 tons of CO₂ between 2024 and 2030 before they scaled production. By locking in multi-year contracts, defining robust verification standards and presenting a clear cost-reduction path; Charm gave investors and customers confidence that its model could deliver measurable impact at scale. Where Nori had innovation, Charm had execution and that commercial edge turned carbon capture from a vision into a viable business.

That contrast highlights a truth that every founder in deep tech eventually faces: commercialization isn’t a later-stage problem, it should be a parallel track with R&D. By bringing in experienced commercial guidance early, carbon and climate startups can design financing, partnerships, and go-to-market strategies that attract investors while the technology is still maturing.

Strategic commercial strategic development support bridges that gap:

• Building project finance models that attract institutional capital.

• Partnering with industrial emitters and utilities.

• Structuring licensing or revenue-share agreements for carbon utilization.

• Navigating verification and carbon credit market rules.

The difference between theory and traction comes down to execution. Strategic partnerships, structured financing, and credible offtake models can transform complex technologies into investable, scalable solutions.

Commercial Partnerships as a Catalyst for Scale
Carbon tech pioneers are already proving what’s possible when commercialization runs in parallel with innovation. One of the most successful examples of this approach is Climeworks, a company that turned early engineering promise into a thriving commercial enterprise through disciplined strategy and long-term partnerships. Founded in 2009, the Swiss direct air capture startup Climeworks was a leader the global carbon removal industry. It began as a small R&D team focused on proving modular capture technology. But it wasn’t their engineering alone that unlocked growth it was their commercial strategy.

Climeworks built early offtake partnerships with companies like Microsoft, Shopify and Stripe; offering long-term carbon removal contracts that validated demand before large-scale deployment. Those agreements didn’t just generate early revenue they signaled market credibility to investors. Backed by that confidence and demonstration of commercial viability, Climeworks was able to secure over $650 million in equity financing in 2022 which was one of the largest funding rounds in climate tech history.

The company also structured project finance models similar to renewable energy projects, blending private capital with long-term purchase commitments to fund its Icelandic Orca and Mammoth facilities. That approach turned what might have remained a scientific pilot into a commercial-scale operation and a playbook for other carbon tech founders.

The difference between a promising pilot and a scalable carbon business often comes down to the commercial scaffolding behind it. Startups that succeed like Climeworks and Charm Industrial didn’t wait until their technology was perfected; they built partnerships, financing models, and offtake agreements that made investors believe in their future. Those that didn’t like Nori show how quickly momentum can fade when strategy lags behind innovation.

Closing Thoughts: Commercialization is as critical as engineering. Only startups with strong business models will scale. In carbon and climate tech, it’s not just about engineering breakthroughs it’s about building confidence, credibility, and capital flow around your idea. The right commercial roadmap helps you turn prototypes into projects, projects into products, and products into growth.

If you’re tackling carbon capture and removal or developing the next breakthrough in climate innovation, don’t wait for the market to find you. Partner with Agrotera Group to design the commercial strategy, partnerships, financial structures and pathways to market that will move your technology from lab to launch faster, smarter, and with lasting impact. Let’s turn your climate innovation into a bankable, scalable business.