Startup Fighting Cow-Burped Methane Raises AU$45 Million in Series B Funding, Bringing Total Investment to AU$73 Million

CH4 Global, Inc., a climate tech company on the path to radically reducing GHG emissions in animal agriculture, today announced it has raised AU $45.05 million (US$29m) in Series B funding. The company will use the funds to build and validate the CH4 Global EcoPark™, aquaculture and production facilities that will make CH4 Global’s signature product, Methane Tamer™, at scale.

This round, led by DCVC, DCVC Bio, and Cleveland Avenue – with participation from other investors with a strong interest in climate change – brings the total raised to date to nearly $73m (US$47m). It also underscores market demand for safe, viable solutions to vastly reduce enteric methane from ruminant livestock.

When added to cattle feed, Methane Tamer—which uses a red seaweed (Asparagopsis)—reduces the animals’ methane emissions by up to 90 per cent while also reducing the feed energy lost to methane emissions. With the development of EcoParks™, CH4 Global is poised for expansion in key markets and with key partners throughout all six inhabitable continents.

The first full-scale EcoPark will be built in Louth Bay in South Australia, with similar projects underway in New Zealand.

This is a key development in the fight against climate change. The 1.5 billion cows on the planet produce more than 150 million tons of methane annually -- the largest single source of methane globally. At more than 12 billion tons CO2-e per year (at an average of 100 kg methane/cow), this is a larger GHG output than from the US, the EU, and India combined. Moreover, the UN cites methane as over 80 times more impactful than CO2 on global warming over the next 20 years.

“We are receiving massive interest from governments, food producers and farmers of all sizes, fueling our sense of urgency that we must act now to avoid a climate tipping point. The pressure is on with new regulations and the desire to produce at a measurably lower impact. What we've developed at CH4 Global is what we call a CH4 Global EcoPark, which enables low-cost growth and processing of Asparagopsis.” said Steve Meller, PhD, co-founder and CEO, CH4 Global.

“We are formulating our unique feed supplement products, Methane Tamer, to meet the specific needs of each cattle market segment, starting with feedlot operations, beef and dairy, as well as for grazing dairies plus eventually for remote and generally unattended cattle around the world.”

“CH4’s secret sauce is its product, plain and simple: the feed additive it has expertly formulated stands apart from other seaweed-based offerings,” said John Hamer PhD, Managing Partner at DCVC Bio and a member of the CH4 Global board of directors.

“DCVC Bio is thrilled to back Steve and his exceptional team: they are ready to scale up a critical solution to climate change.”

“CH4 is exactly the kind of deep tech company the world urgently needs,” said Zachary Bogue, DCVC Co-founder and Managing Partner. “Their natural and proprietary solution to the vexing global problem of methane from cattle can have a material environmental impact quickly and at scale.”

As part of this funding round, Cleveland Avenue, LLC will join the CH4 Global Board of Directors. “We are excited about the opportunity that CH4 Global represents in addressing the major global problem of methane gas emissions. Cleveland Avenue looks forward to supporting CH4 Global’s world-class team in this endeavor,” said Randall Lewis, Managing Partner at Cleveland Avenue, LLC.

More than 150 countries have signed the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce methane emissions by 30%. This followed the IPCC’s May 2021 report that stated that “methane is the single biggest lever for climate change impact in the next 25 years.” According to the IPCC, methane emissions must be reduced by 45% by 2030 relative to projected levels in order to put the world on a path consistent with the Paris Agreement 1.5˚C target.