COMPANY: Powered Carbon
PILOT DATE: July 2023 – September 2023
During the 2023 PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator (GHAC) Program, Powered Carbon conducted pilots across thousands of acres of potato fields in Guangdong, Shandong, and Gansu provinces in China. These trials aimed to prove that Powered Carbon’s proprietary bacteria strains could provide a reduced carbon dioxide (CO₂) alternative to traditional soil enhancers. Since winning the accelerator program, Powered Carbon has achieved significant business growth and garnered interest from venture capital firms.
THE COMPANY
Based in China, Powered Carbon uses electrochemistry and synthetic biotechnology to transfer CO₂ from industrial exhaust gas into valued chemicals, which can be used as raw materials for products, including those used in sustainable agriculture practices.
THE OBJECTIVE / CHALLENGES
After working with PepsiCo mentors, Powered Carbon realized their technological solution could be applied to the agricultural sector, to cultivate probiotic bacteria used in soil enhancers. The startup was keen to demonstrate the effectiveness of its CO₂-based soil enhancers in improving crop yields.
THE PILOT
The pilot program applied Powered Carbon’s probiotic-based soil enhancers to PepsiCo’s potato fields across Guangdong, Shandong, and Gansu provinces from July to September 2023. Working closely with PepsiCo’s agricultural teams, Powered Carbon’s solution helped improve soil enhancers used in existing farming practices.
THE IMPACT/ RESULTS
By incorporating proprietary probiotic strains into soil enhancers, Powered Carbon’s pilot with PepsiCo has so far shown further improvements on potato yield compared to traditional soil enhancers. Third-party lab testing also shows Powered Carbon’s production using renewable electricity reduces GHG emissions compared to traditional soil enhancers.
After winning PepsiCo’s 2023 Greenhouse Accelerator Program, Powered Carbon received a $100,000 grant, which they utilized to further develop sustainable food system solutions. This investment, coupled with the successful pilot, led to a six-fold increase in company income since August 2023, attributed to heightened market awareness and investor interest.
KEY STATS
- Reduction in CO₂ emissions at Guangdong, Shandong, and Gansu potato plants
- 6X increase in company income from August 2023 to Dec 2023.
- 8X year-on-year increase in company income from December 2023–December 2024
“The financial support and invaluable mentorship we received from PepsiCo over the past few months has really helped to build up our confidence, to grow the business at a scale we couldn’t envision before.” – Kehan Wang, Co-founder, Powered Carbon
