The climate crisis is already costing us billions of dollars every year. It’s predicted to cost us trillions more in the future, not to mention the huge toll it’s taking on our health, economy and environment. One way we can start to pay for those costs is by retrofitting our buildings so they play a more significant role in reducing emissions.
The built environment is one of the most carbon-intensive sectors in the world. Plantd is a startup that wants to help replace panels that are nearly ubiquitous in single- and multi-family homes with renewable energy sources, like solar and wind power. They raised a $10 million Series A to do this, and they’re poised to become a major player in this field.
Though Plantd aims to supplant materials such as oriented strand board, or OSB, which is an engineered panel made of wood strips and adhesives, the panels are still sustainable. Plantd’s panels are made from a proprietary blend of perennial grasses that grow exceptionally fast and with minimal environmental impact.
TechGround is a startup that has developed a woody grass called Bamboo. The grass is said to provide many benefits, such as helping to prevent erosion and boosting the health of ecosystems. It is unclear which plant species the startup has chosen as its model, but judging by an image on their website it appears to be something along the lines of bamboo.
Josh Dorfman is the co-founder and CEO of Plantd, a company that uses biomass to recapture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. By using biomass instead of trees, Plantd can capture carbon dioxide much faster than trees can and do so using less land. This would have huge consequences for climate change as it would mitigate some of the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.
Because of its insurance-focused investments, American Family Ventures (AFFV) was an obvious backer of Plantd. The startup’sSeries A round was also bolstered by IDEA Fund Partners and Palmetto solar CEO Chris Kemper. With its digital maps and data analysis tool, Plantd is looking to help insurers better understand the potential risk posed by their customers.
The startup’s postmoney valuation indicates that it is seeing significant growth potential, as the company is able to attract investors at a high valuation despite only having launched its product less than one year ago. This indicates that there may be a lot of demand for the startup’s services, and that it could potentially become one of the leading technology companies in its field.
Many experts in the energy industry are unsure about Plantd’s claims that its panels are stronger and more environmentally friendly than traditional solar panels. However, the startup has not yet proven these claims at scale, so it is currently raising money through a Series A investment.
