At HSBC Innovation Banking US, we’re committed to supporting the next generation of changemakers—companies like Vycarb, who are redefining what’s possible in the climate tech space. By providing the payments infrastructure, global connectivity, and expertise needed to scale, we help Vycarb focus on lasting climate impact.

Vycarb’s mission is ambitious and urgent: “to make permanent carbon storage more accessible and affordable at the point of emission,” says Garrett Boudinot, Founder & CEO of Vycarb. Their technology converts CO₂ directly into dissolved bicarbonate in natural waters, accelerating natural carbon storage the way oceans take in and convert CO₂ to stable, inert HCO3. It results in an abundant form of carbon in the ocean that can persist for tens of thousands of years.

Boudinot’s outlook was shaped by his work in climate science, service on the New York State Climate Impacts Assessment, running a carbon removal research program at Cornell, and as an Activate Fellow. As a result, Vycarb’s work was rooted in his deep understanding of the carbon cycle from its very beginning. “Nature already moves and safely stores carbon, and we can unlock that natural carbon storage for global, massive scale climate solutions if we can accelerate, control, and measure it better,” he explains.

Founded in 2022, Vycarb began as an effort to rethink carbon removal and storage. Early milestones included validating that CO₂ could be reliably converted into bicarbonate using common minerals, without ecological harm, and that the process could be measured and controlled. To do that, Vycarb developed two key innovations: a water-based chemical processing system that controls and accelerates this natural storage chemistry, and a novel water carbon sensing technology that quantifies performance in real time and helps self-optimize the process to ensure permanence and safety.

As Boudinot notes, “We’ve evolved the technology to take a wide range of CO₂, opening up enormous opportunities to reduce CO₂ emissions across sectors and geographies.” With successful pilot deployments, including a major installation at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where Vycarb is permanently storing CO₂ in the East River, the company has proven that water-based carbon storage can work in industrial and coastal environments.

Vycarb’s mission was reaffirmed when it worked with some of the earliest carbon removal credit buyers. “We’ve sold high-integrity carbon removal and storage credits to early adopters like Stripe and Milkywire, and we were selected in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize,” says Boudinot.

A $5M seed round led by Twynam, with participation from strategic investors across energy, shipping, materials, and climate finance, has positioned Vycarb for its next chapter: commercialization and scale.

As Vycarb’s international project pipeline grew, so did the complexity of managing payments and operations. One challenge in particular: executing a large contract with a partner in Australia, where managing cross-border payments and currencies became more work than they first expected.

“We were looking for a banking partner with true global reach—one that could simplify expansion into new geographies and reduce the friction of operating across currencies, regulatory environments, and markets,” says Boudinot.

Vycarb found that partner in HSBC Innovation Banking US. Our expertise in supporting cross-border, future-thinking companies throughout the ecosystem means Vycarb can focus on the mission-critical stuff; not the complexities of startup finances.

“We saw HSBC and HSBC Innovation Banking as a partner whose international footprint could remove that friction entirely, allowing us to focus on deploying and scaling our technology rather than navigating financial logistics,” Boudinot explains.

Beyond payments, we provide access to new investors, financing mechanisms, and hands-on support in navigating complex financial structures. These have proven to be the critical advantages of our platform for founders trying to go global.

Vycarb is expanding deployments across industrial and coastal sites, moving from pilots to repeatable installations, and deepening integrations with sectors like bioenergy, power generation, cement, steel, and ports. This has resulted in a runway filled with capital-intensive projects, larger teams, and even faster deployment – all while maintaining a strict level of scientific rigor and ecological safety.

“What’s next for Vycarb is scale,” says Boudinot. “HSBC Innovation Banking will play a critical role in this next phase by helping bridge the gap between breakthrough climate science and deployable infrastructure.”

As Vycarb goes global, our tailored growth capital, project finance expertise, and vast network will help them navigate new markets, structure deployments responsibly, and build the financial credibility needed to make permanent, measurable carbon storage a mainstream part of industrial decarbonization.

Vycarb’s story is a testament to what’s possible when scientific innovation meets the right financial support. They’re helping shape the next era of climate tech, one project, one partnership, and one molecule of CO₂ at a time.

At HSBC Innovation Banking US, we’re proud to support innovators like Vycarb as they work toward a brighter future.

Interested in learning more about how HSBC Innovation Banking US can help you grow your climate tech venture? Contact us to start the conversation.