London-based Carbonplace, a carbon credit transaction network that enables the transfer of certified carbon credits, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $45M (approximately €41.84M) in a Seed round of funding.
The company, which connects buyers and sellers of carbon credits through their banks, also announced that it has formed its own entity.
The investment came from nine financial institutions wherein each bank shares equal equity ownership in the new company, which is expected to launch its platform later this year.
Carbonplace Limited: Everything you need to know
Nine of the top financial institutions in the world, including BNP Paribas, CIBC, Ita Unibanco, National Australia Bank, NatWest Group, BBVA, SMBC, Standard Chartered, and UBS, have joined forces to create Carbonplace Limited.
Carbonplace claims to make it possible to transfer verified carbon credits in an easy, transparent, and secure manner. The fintech aims to transform how carbon credits are purchased and sold by enabling simultaneous settlement of carbon credits and immediate transfer of ownership upon payment.
According to the company, this will ensure robust reporting and traceability throughout the entire carbon credit transfer process. It will be available to clients of financial institutions seeking to provide open access to the carbon markets.
Carbonplace has already piloted trades with a host of buyers, sellers, registries, and exchanges, including Visa, and Singapore-based marketplace Climate Impact X.
A new CEO!
CEO Scott Eaton will be in charge of Carbonplace. Eaton, who has over 30 years of financial services experience, will be joining from Nivaura where he served as CEO.
He served as CEO of London-based Algomi from 2018 until its sale to BGC in 2020 before joining Nivaura. From 2015 to 2018, Eaton was the COO of MarketAxess, a supplier of fixed-income trading platforms.
Prior to MarketAxess, Eaton held various senior roles at ABN Amro, Royal Bank of Scotland, Deutsche Bank, and at UniCredit, where he was global head of emerging markets trading.
Eaton says, “With Carbonplace, we are transforming the way that carbon credits are bought, distributed, held and retired. I am excited to take this company to the next level of its evolution, and to help unlock its massive potential to drive significant economic and social value by opening the carbon markets up to the world.”
Capital utilisation
Carbonplace says that the capital injection from some of the biggest financial institutions in the world, will further its mission of accelerating corporate climate action by supplying transparent, safe, and open carbon markets.
The company plans to use this funding to extend the platform and its workforce, increase service offerings to a larger clientele of financial institutions, as well as collaborate with other players in the carbon market, including global markets and registries.
