Australia's Loam Bio raises $73m Series B
Loam Bio, an Australia-based agricultural technology start-up that uses microbes to sequester carbon in farm soils, has received AUD 105m (USD 73m) in Series B funding.
The round – one of the largest ever seen in Australia’s agtech space – was led by Lowercarbon Capital, a US investor that backs technologies capable of reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, and Wollemi Capital, a global climate specialist investment firm located in Australia. One of the co-founders, Tim Bishop, previously served as global head of Macquarie Capital.
Other participants included Hong Kong’s Horizons Ventures and North America-based Acre Venture Partners, Hawktail, Time Ventures, and Thistledown. Additional commitments came from Australian investors such as Main Sequence, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Grok Ventures, and GrainInnovate.
It follows a AUD 40m Series A in late 2021 led by Time Ventures and featuring Main Sequence, Horizons, CEFC, Acre, Grok, and Lowercarbon.
Soil carbon sequestration is a process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and stored in the soil carbon pool. Loam’s approach involves coating seeds with microbial inoculum that enhances a plant’s natural ability to store carbon in the soil. It can lead to improved soil health, nutrient-rich crops, and higher yields, as well as providing a path for generating carbon offsets.
The company has two main business lines: supplying CarbonBuilder Canola, the microbial inoculum, to farmers; and SecondCrop, a project advisory unit that helps farmers understand their carbon footprint, how to build stable carbon into their soils, and the value of carbon as a new commodity.
Loam has officially launched both programmes in the Australian market and it is looking to engage farmers in the US and Canada this year.
“Following many years of product research and development, we’re now focused on getting our products out on farm. This year we’re moving from pre-commercial to commercial and launching our products in Australia, working with a limited number of farmers to help them gain value from our products and services in Australia,” said Guy Hudson, Loam’s co-founder and CEO, in a statement.
“We're moving towards commercialisation in the US, which will come in 2024, followed by our expansion into Brazil to help farmers globally access value from carbon markets.”
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