Cotierra receives 1 million US dollars in oversubscribed pre-seed

With oversubscribed pre-seed financing, Cotierra aims to advance its low-cost biochar reactor technology, focusing on field tests in collaboration with partners in Colombia

Zurich, Switzerland, 12.03.2024 - The Swiss-Colombian company Cotierra has successfully closed an oversubscribed pre-seed financing round of USD 1 million. Climate investors such as Carbon Removal Partners, Climate Founders, Partners in ClimateCarbon Drawdown Initiative, S2S Ventures and ClimateTech business angels have invested in Cotierra's pioneering project, which aims to decarbonize coffee farming.

The funds will be used to advance Cotierra's efforts to develop its clean and low-cost biochar reactor technology and its Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system. In addition, the company is planning field tests of its decentralized Biochar solution in collaboration with partners in Colombia.

Biochar - biochar product

Cotierra's approach involves the conversion of agricultural residues into biochar, a process with the potential to sequester gigatons of carbon in the soil. This is not only to address environmental problems, but also to drastically reduce fertilizer emissions and improve the well-being of farmers.

Headquartered in Zurich, Cotierra focuses on decentralized biochar production for carbon removal and emission reduction. The latest funding round demonstrates strong interest from environmental and climate-focused investors and points to the urgent demand for Cotierra's approach within the coffee value chain.

CEO and co-founder Thomas Käslin emphasized the importance of the funding for accelerating technology development and demonstrating the benefits on the ground in Colombia. COO Lorenz Buser highlighted the collaboration with academic partners for agronomy studies and the development of a transparent MRV system to increase confidence in Cotierra's carbon removal and emission reduction efforts.

Focus on coffee cultivation

Modern agriculture, which is responsible for 23% of global greenhouse gas emissions, faces challenges, particularly with rapid land degradation, especially in the Global South. Cotierra's Biochar solution, tailored to these conditions, involves converting coffee crop residues into Biochar to sequester carbon for centuries, restore soil health and increase farm productivity.

Cotierra's mission is to decarbonize agricultural supply chains, starting with coffee cultivation, by sequestering carbon in the soil. With its low-cost reactor and MRV system, Cotierra aims to accelerate the regenerative transformation and build resilience in the face of a changing climate.

Cotierra's decentralized approach, supported by its low-cost and mobile reactor, is proving beneficial for small farm networks in coffee supply chains. This approach effectively reduces logistics costs and avoids increased biomass competition for centralized residues.

Investors such as Benjamin Schulz of Carbon Removal Partners praise Cotierra's work on tropical biomass for large-scale carbon removal. Markus Sudhoff, Managing Director at Climate Founders, emphasizes the economic feasibility and scalability of biochar, with Cotierra's decentralized approach representing a breakthrough in biochar production in the Global South.