Sequest
Sequest provides durable carbon removal by storing agricultural biomass in engineered chambers within hyper-arid deserts, where the lack of moisture halts decomposition and locks carbon out of the atmosphere. The company sources leftover plant material that would otherwise burn or rot, dries it, and monitors the storage sites with sensors and analytics. Its initial commercial operations are launching in Saudi Arabia, with independent verification through Puro.earth.
- Clean Technology
- Internet of Things
Funding
Founders
Founder details are not available yet.
Product
Problem
Plants capture atmospheric CO₂ through photosynthesis, but when they decompose or burn, that carbon is released back into the atmosphere. Farms generate vast amounts of leftover plant material — trimmings, stalks, husks, and shells — that often gets burned or left to rot, releasing stored carbon and contributing to air pollution. While companies increasingly purchase durable carbon removal to offset residual emissions, most contracted carbon removal has not actually been delivered at material scale.
Solution
Sequest stores biomass in engineered chambers within hyper-arid deserts, where the absence of moisture prevents microbial decomposition, keeping carbon locked out of the atmosphere for extended periods. The process relies on a simple, scalable insight: dry biomass does not decompose, as demonstrated by plant matter remaining intact for thousands of years in Egyptian tombs. The company sources leftover agricultural material that would otherwise decompose or burn, prepares it by drying, and stores it in engineered desert chambers. Storage sites are monitored, maintained, and verified over time using sensors and analytics, ensuring carbon removal is measured and independently certified. Sequest is designed to be economical, using familiar tasks like handling and logistics rather than energy-intensive novel chemistry, enabling carbon removal to scale affordably through disciplined execution.
Target Audience
Primary customers are companies with net-zero commitments that need durable carbon removal to offset residual emissions that cannot be eliminated through reduction efforts alone.
Features
- Engineered storage chambers in hyper-arid deserts that leverage natural conditions to halt microbial decomposition of biomass
- Three-step process: sourcing residual plant material, drying and storing it in desert chambers, and monitoring/verifying storage over time
- Sensor-based monitoring and analytics systems to track storage integrity and carbon retention over time
- Independent verification pathway through Puro.earth under the Terrestrial Storage of Biomass methodology, having passed preliminary assessment
- Sourcing strategy that targets leftover plant material with no better alternative use, avoiding competition with soil health or livestock feed
- Designed for cost efficiency using existing skills and equipment
- no novel chemistry or energy-intensive processing
- Deployment begins in Saudi Arabia, where hyper-arid conditions, infrastructure, and scaling partners enable industrial-scale delivery