Terraform Industries closes $37.75M for synthetic gas
Illustration: Brendan Lynch / Axios
Terraform Industries, a startup that makes natural gas from air and electricity, has closed $37.75 million the company confirmed with Axios Pro.
Why it matters: The company is aiming to produce low cost synthetic gas at the cost of producing conventional liquid natural gas.
Zoom in: Terraform Industries CEO and co-founder Casey Handmer described the latest funding as the closing of the company's series of seed investments.
How it works: The company has created "the Terraformer," which is the size of two shipping containers and uses an electrolyzer, a direct air capture system and a chemical reactor to make gas.
- Because the CO2 is extracted from the air, when the gas is burned and releases the carbon dioxide, the process is carbon neutral.
- Terraform is using the lowest-cost equipment possible and is optimizing around cost instead of efficiency of the system, Handmer has said.
The big picture: Synthetic fuels have traditionally been far more expensive than fossil-based fuels.
- Many startups that originally aim to make synthetic fuels end up making higher-margin specialty chemicals that can generate more revenue and don't compete directly with low cost natural gas, gasoline or diesel.
What's next: Terraform Industries says it plans to deliver a full scale deployment in the field this year, and down the road plans to expand into sustainable aviation fuel and methanol.
