Great Carbon Valley

What Great Carbon Valley does

Great Carbon Valley (GCV) is a Nairobi-based, privately held project development venture founded in 2023 that focuses on seeding, planning, and executing large-scale technical carbon removals and green industrial projects anchored around Kenya's Great Rift Valley. The company's core offering centers on Direct Air Capture and Storage (DAC+S) deployment, with adjacent services spanning green data center siting and green industrial park development for energy-intensive industries such as green hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and direct geothermal-heat applications. GCV does not own or license DAC technology directly; instead, it operates as the on-the-ground site developer that brings together technology partners (Climeworks, Beyond Captur, AspiraDAC, Sirona Technologies, GCT), storage and mineralization partners (Carbfix, Cella Mineral Storage), and financial partners (Centum, Africa Climate Ventures) to assemble bankable projects. The company is led by CEO Bilha Ndirangu, with James Mwangi serving as advisor and Co-Founder James Irungu Mwangi also serving as CEO of Africa Climate Ventures.

The company's value proposition rests on a set of resource advantages that are difficult to replicate elsewhere: Kenya's roughly 10 GW of untapped geothermal potential, basaltic geological formations suited to permanent CO2 mineralization, and a 91% carbon-free electricity grid that together position the Rift Valley among the world's most attractive DAC+S sites. GCV packages these resources into turnkey solutions combining actively managed land leases, access to low-cost baseload and variable renewable power, local regulatory and policy expertise, and partner mobilization intended to de-risk projects and improve bankability.

GCV's business model derives revenue from professional services tied to green industrial project development and transaction-based fees on carbon removal credits generated through its DAC+S installations, with pricing negotiated per engagement rather than publicly disclosed. The go-to-market motion is enterprise and partnership-driven, targeting DAC technology companies, green data center operators, and energy-intensive industries seeking clean power and net-zero pathways in East Africa. The company has set a stated ambition to capture at least 1 million tonnes of CO2 annually and launch 15+ green industry projects by 2030, though it currently operates as a pre-revenue venture with approximately 10 employees and no disclosed institutional funding round beyond its relationship with Africa Climate Ventures.

Name

Great Carbon Valley

Legal name

Great Carbon Valley

Website

https://greatcarbonvalley.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Great Carbon Valley is a Nairobi-based project development venture that builds Direct Air Capture, green data center, and green industrial park projects in Kenya's Great Rift Valley by assembling technology, finance, and storage partners around the country's geothermal and carbon storage resources.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Project Development Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Land Subdivision (23721)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Finance, Carbon Markets & MRV Systems (BPADALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Project Design Review (PDD/Methodology Applicability & Additionality Assessment) (EUABACAC), Carbon Market MRV (Offsets/Projects: Verra/Gold Standard/ART; registry reporting) (EUAHADAF)

Keywords

• Direct air capture
• Carbon removal
• Green industrial development
• Geothermal energy projects
• Carbon storage services

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Project Development Services: GCV develops turnkey green industrial projects, providing land leases, energy access, regulatory expertise, and partner mobilization to de-risk projects and drive bankability.
2. Carbon Removal Credits: Facilitating permanent carbon dioxide removal through DAC+S installations, enabling clients to meet net zero targets and purchase high-quality carbon removal credits.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Great Carbon Valley (GCV) is a project development venture that develops, plans, and executes large-scale Direct Air Capture and Storage (DAC+S) projects, green data center facilities, and green industrial parks in Kenya's Great Rift Valley. The company provides turnkey siting solutions including actively managed land leases, access to low-cost renewable energy, local regulatory expertise, and partner mobilization to de-risk projects and drive bankability for energy-intensive industries and DAC technology companies.

Product overview

Great Carbon Valley operates as a project development venture offering a portfolio of interconnected carbon removal and green industry services anchored around the Great Rift Valley's abundant geothermal and renewable energy resources. The core offering combines Direct Air Capture and Storage (DAC+S) technology deployment with Green Industrial Parks infrastructure, complemented by Green Data Centers and Green Industry Projects services. Together, these form turnkey solutions for decarbonization: DAC+S captures atmospheric CO2 permanently, Green Industrial Parks provide the physical infrastructure and energy access for energy-intensive operations, Green Industry Projects support technology scaling from lab to commercial deployment, and Green Data Centers address the growing demand for sustainable computing infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Direct Air Capture and Storage (DAC+S)

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 million tonnes CO2 removal annually by 2030
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered key, strategic and core.

• Beyond CapturkeyTechnology or Integration · 19 June 2025First signed MoU to launch Kenya's first electrochemical Direct Air Capture pilot project. Followed by Definitive Agreement in July 2025 to advance collaboration.
• AspiraDACkeyTechnology or Integration · 22 May 2025Signed MoU to scale Direct Air Capture and Storage technology in Kenya. Partnership to develop electrochemical DAC projects.
• Third Derivative (RMI Global Accelerator)strategicGTM or Marketing Partner · 31 July 2024Part of RMI's global accelerator program for climate tech startups, welcoming 27 climate tech startups to the ecosystem.
• ClimeworkscoreTechnology or IntegrationWorld's leading direct air capture technology company and global DAC leader. Climeworks launched the world's largest DAC plant, Mammoth in Iceland with 40,000 tons annual CO2 removal capacity. They are exploring geothermal energy and CO2 storage potential in Kenya's Rift Valley with GCV.
• CentumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEast Africa's leading publicly listed investment firm with USD 140M+ in assets under management. Leading developer of industrial parks and geothermal projects in Kenya. Partnering with GCV to develop green industrial clusters across multiple sites.
• Cella Mineral StoragecoreTechnology or IntegrationCarbon sequestration partner for permanent CO2 storage. Associated with Octavia Carbon's Project Hummingbird, the first commercial DAC plant on the African continent.
• CarbfixcoreTechnology or IntegrationGlobal leader in subsurface mineralization for CO2 storage. GCV participated in Carbfix Mineralization Summit 2023 in Iceland to discuss scaling mineralization approaches globally.
• Sirona TechnologieskeyTechnology or IntegrationDirect air capture technology company developing CDR approaches across Africa. Partner with GCV for DAC project development in Kenya.
• GCT (Global Climate Technologies)keyTechnology or IntegrationClimate technology partner collaborating on green industrial solutions.
• Africa Climate VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate-focused investment and development organization. CEO James Irungu Mwangi serves as Co-Founder and leads climate initiatives. Partnered on exploring Rift Valley geothermal and CO2 storage potential.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Octavia Carbon: Kenya-headquartered developer of the first commercial Direct Air Capture plant on the African continent (Project Hummingbird). Closest geographic and business-model peer to GCV's DAC+S and carbon removal credit pipeline.
• 44.01: Oman-based CO2 mineralization project developer turning captured carbon into rock. Comparable to GCV as a developer/originator pairing DAC with subsurface mineralization storage in a region with favorable geology.
• Heirloom Carbon: US-based DAC project developer operating commercial facilities and issuing durable carbon removal credits. Direct peer on the DAC+S project development + carbon credit monetization model that GCV targets.
• CarbonCapture Inc. US DAC project developer building first-of-a-kind MegaHubs and selling high-quality removal credits. Comparable peer to GCV as a developer aggregating capture technology partners into bankable project sites.
• Sirona Technologies: Africa-focused DAC technology and project developer (a signed GCV partner). Closely overlaps GCV's geographic and product focus on carbon removal deployment across Africa.

Emerging players

• Carbfix: Icelandic leader in subsurface CO2 mineralization and a GCV partner. Overlaps GCV on the storage/MRV layer of the DAC+S value chain rather than full project development.
• AspiraDAC: Electrochemical DAC technology developer with a signed MoU with GCV (May 2025). Comparable early-stage partner on alternative DAC pathways in the same East African geography.

Broad incumbents

• Climeworks: World's largest pure-play DAC technology operator (Mammoth plant) and a Core strategic partner of GCV. Broader incumbent in the DAC+S stack against which GCV develops siting/origination projects.

Regional players

• Konza Technopolis: Kenya's flagship technology city / industrial park developer. Comparable on the green industrial parks / land lease model that GCV packages alongside its DAC+S offering.

Others

• Frontier: Stripe-anchored advance market commitment pooled fund buying durable carbon removal at scale. Not a developer but the dominant off-taker shaping demand and pricing for the credits GCV plans to sell.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GreatCarbonVly
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/great-carbon-valley/about

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Carbon Valley