In an asphalt-surrounded greenhouse at the back of a business park in Hayward, California, on the shores of San Francisco Bay, a sea of more than 200 leafy, green, hybrid poplar saplings are itching to break free from their pots. Among them stands Maddie Hall. The trees are all “mother trees”, explains Hall, co-founder and CEO of climate biotech firm Living Carbon. They have been genetically altered (there are about 100 different lines) with the aim of making them better at absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2). The startup company propagates cuttings from the mothers either to study or to send to nurseries for larger-scale production.
This spring, clones of four of its leading lines were planted on private land in Georgia and Ohio as pilot projects to monitor their carbon sequestration, through partnerships with willing landowners. Living Carbon’s business model includes selling carbon removal credits, with landowners paid for the use of their property. About 170,000 seedlings of different tree varieties were planted over about 120 hectares (300 acres), about 5% of which were genetically modified poplars: the company is starting small, conscious of avoiding monocultures. “None of what we do matters if it just all stays at the greenhouse,” says Hall.
