How Max combines his passion for VC and CO2 removal

During his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, Max became interested in clean tech. “I followed a few lectures on renewable energy & energy storage and got fascinated by it. It felt so logical to me that this is the direction we need to go to solve major challenges.” He kept reading extensively about the subject and got particularly inspired in 2018 when he came across a Norwegian synthetic aviation fuel project, which manufactured fossil free fuel by having green hydrogen and atmospheric CO2 react.

Engaging family in clean tech investing

Climeworks, a Swiss company developing Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology, was involved in this project as a supplier of atmospheric CO2. Max approached them to do his master’s thesis internship with them and engaged his family’s trust to consider an investment in the company. “Although investments had been rather traditional in the past, they were certainly also entrepreneurial. So with a certain portion of capital set aside to take risk, it seemed reasonable to invest into such a strong vision.”

Access to the impact investing universe

The carbon removal topic grabbed Max entirely. He wrote his master’s thesis about it while joining the CSP Impact Investing for the Next Generation program. 

“The networking part, getting access to this community, the impact investing universe, and the inspiration to get more active, have been invaluable to me.”

Carbon Removal Partners

Soon Max started contemplating building his own Venture Capital firm around carbon removal. “My passion for working with young, innovative companies in clean tech and for investing with an impact all came together.” He found his business partner through due diligence work he did with the family trust and noticed they had a great shared fascination for carbon removal.

In 2022, they established Carbon Removal Partners (CRP), a VC company entirely focused on carbon removal and carbon management technologies. Their Fund I has been pursuing an early-stage strategy with a footprint in the US, Canada and Europe and has accessed some of the most successful carbon management startups to date.

Unlocking incredible power for change

Max is a big believer in focusing on one topic and going deep. “By acquiring a lot of expertise, you gain credibility and get more done. You could say it is one-dimensional, but I get much motivation from delving deep inside one topic and making progress.” 

That also goes for this community, Max says: “I think CSP is powerful. When we, as a community, can get aligned behind a few thematic goals, I strongly believe we have an incredible amount of power for change, as each individual member is already so capable of moving things.”