Development Bank of Japan Inc. ("DBJ") has made an investment in Heirloom Carbon Technologies, Inc. ("Heirloom").
Heirloom is a US-based startup developing direct air capture (DAC: an innovative technology designed to remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere) technology using limestone. Heirloom has succeeded in rapidly accelerating the natural ability of limestone to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, enabling highly scalable CO2 capture at low cost. In November 2023, Heirloom began operating the first commercial DAC plant in the United States. With this investment, DBJ joins a growing cohort of Japanese partners anchoring the DAC value chain to power Japan's next wave of economic growth. Heirloom's captured CO2 can be fixed in concrete or underground, generating carbon credits*1, which are sold to companies working toward carbon neutrality, or used to supply low-carbon-intensity fuels for aviation, shipping, and industry.
Despite significant efforts, achieving absolute zero greenhouse gas emissions is extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive; thus, the deployment of negative emission technologies*2 such as DAC is indispensable. These technologies are essential for realizing a carbon-neutral society, and demand for them is expected to grow significantly in the future.
Heirloom, one of the world's leading companies deploying DAC technology in commercial plants, plans to construct and launch considerably larger plants in the future. By scaling up and reducing costs, Heirloom is expected to contribute further to the realization of a carbon-neutral society.
DBJ will support our clients' efforts to achieve carbon neutrality in accordance with our corporate philosophy, "Design the future with financial expertise: Continue to expand financial frontiers; Provide the best solutions for customers and society; Pursue sustainable development for Japan and the world."
*1 Carbon credits are tradable certificates issued by third-party organizations certifying the results of greenhouse gas emission reductions or removals. Companies that find it difficult to reduce emissions can purchase these credits to offset part of their own emissions, making carbon credits an important economic tool for achieving a carbon-neutral society.
*2 Negative emission technologies refer to technologies that remove or capture greenhouse gases such as CO2 directly from the atmosphere or emission sources. These include engineering processes such as DAC, as well as natural processes like afforestation, and are considered indispensable for offsetting emissions that cannot be suppressed through reduction efforts.
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