Carbon Removal in 2025: What You Need to Know - Andrew Shebbeare (Counteract)

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Thank you to BioEsol for sponsoring this episode. 💚

BioEsol is an AI-powered energy company bringing Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) to industrial and SME clients, enabling energy autonomy, cost savings, and sustainability - with no upfront investment. In April, the company will open its Series A round to accelerate its expansion in France & Europe.

This week, we’re joined by Andrew Shebbeare, co-founder of Counteract, to unpack the state of carbon removal in 2025, what's broken, what's working, and what needs to change. From LP dynamics to resilient startup models, we cover it all.

In this episode, we discuss:

* Why raising capital for CDR is harder in 2025

* The shift from hype to fundamentals in CDR

* Carbon credits vs. carbon-negative business models

* Advice for both investors and founders in the carbon space

* Why MRV and ecosystem enablers matter more than ever

* … and more!

Watch this episode on YouTube. 👇

⌛TIMESTAMPS

* 00:00 Introduction to the episode

* 03:45 A sci-fi take on the current political/economic moment

* 08:30 What founders are experiencing on the ground in 2025

* 11:09 The carbon credit myth: what startups really sell

* 14:35 Business models from the Counteract portfolio

* 21:00 Has the hype died? What Hello Tomorrow 2025 revealed

* 25:19 Headwinds vs tailwinds for carbon removal

* 29:52 How much CO₂ has Counteract catalyzed so far?

* 33:40 What LPs are now looking for in climate funds

* 39:03 How to identify resilient carbon removal startups

* 42:24 The role (and limits) of storytelling in CDR

* 45:11 🔥 Fire Questions

📚 STARTUPS MENTIONED

* Chloris Geospatial (trees from space)

* Seqana (soil MRV)

* AgriCarbon (robotic soil sampling)

* Adaptavate (carbon-negative wallboards)

* Concrete4Change (CO₂ in concrete)

* Crew Carbon (alkaline wastewater)

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