London-based Counteract, a company combating the climate crisis through insight, investment and invention in carbon removal, announced on Wednesday, February 15 that it has closed its inaugural venture capital fund, Counteract One, at £35M (approximately €39.38M).
The fund invests in early-stage companies across the full spectrum of greenhouse gas removal solutions and aims to remove five billion tonnes of CO2.
“First dedicated Carbon Removal investor in the world”
Since February 2021, the Counteract One team has invested independently of the fund to establish a portfolio of 12 firms to spur growth in the Carbon Removal industry. The team claims to be the first dedicated Carbon Removal investor in the world.
The “dark green” (EU Article 9 SFDR) fund seeks to assist 35 to 40 projects, each of which has the potential to catalyse the removal of 500 million tonnes or more of CO2 by 2050. Among the investors that are taking part are Anglo American, The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, and Extantia Allstars, among others.
In addition to financing, Counteract One offers practical assistance to business owners through the expertise and ecosystem connections of its team. The partnership’s performance fee is directly correlated with the impact of the fund on CO2 reduction. Counteract One is supported by MJ Hudson Ltd.
The current portfolio of Counteract will be transferred to the fund. This includes a variety of carbon removal techniques from four different continents, including direct air capture, biomass, forestry, agriculture, mineralisation, materials and more.
Ecolocked, RepAir, Agricarbon, Chloris Geospatial, and Vesta are a few recent investments.
About the Counteract team
Counteract was founded by serial co-founders Andrew Shebbeare, Andy Bonsall and Matt Isaacs. This is their latest endeavour together. The team offers a plethora of entrepreneurial, scientific, and financial expertise.
Prior to Counteract, they founded and exited Essence, which has now combined with EssenceMediacom to become the second-largest media agency in the world. Caitlin Wale, who just received the title of Principal, joins the founding team from Octopus Ventures.
Andrew Shebbeare says, “Launching our first fund gives us extra leverage to scale up Carbon Removal efforts, supporting early-stage ventures and working with a truly inspiring ecosystem of partners to identify the right pathways for growth in this vital sector.”
Richard Barker, who has been advising Counteract for the past 18 months, will join the group as a Partner. His background includes project financing, private equity, and starting and expanding sustainable businesses in the fields of recycling, bioenergy, and process technology.
Robert Höglund of Marginal Carbon helps companies, policy-makers and NGOs navigate this nascent sector. He will support the fund with thesis development, diligence and portfolio strategy.
Höglund says, “It is hard to overstate the impact of smart, patient, and supportive capital as we scale these vital technologies. Counteract are among the most forward-thinking investors in the space and I am excited to join the team as an advisor to drive the change we need.”
Meanwhile, the company says that Jo Brass will bring extensive knowledge of the legal aspects of project financing and private equity. She collaborated on the design and implementation of the fund structure with the group and MJ Hudson and continues to offer guidance on fund-level issues as well as those involving portfolio companies.
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