HyveGeo

HyveGeo is a climate-tech company founded in 2023 with a mission to address both carbon removal and food security. The company's genesis traces back to the University of Cambridge, where co-founders Abdulaziz bin Redha (CEO), Dr. Samsurin Welch (COO), Eva Morales (Chief Strategy Officer), and Dr. Harjit Singh (Chief Engineer) developed the foundational technology. This team of scientists and engineers decided to apply their research in the UAE, the home country of CEO Abdulaziz bin Redha, to tackle the interconnected challenges of climate change and food scarcity in arid regions.

The core of HyveGeo's business is a dual approach combining biotechnology and climate technology to transform non-arable desert land into fertile soil. It utilizes locally adapted microalgae, grown in vast desert areas using sunlight and wastewater, as a primary feedstock. This microalgae is then converted into other products, including a stable, carbon-rich biochar created by heating the biomass at low oxygen levels. This engineered biochar serves as a carrier for bioactive compounds and beneficial microbes, which are also extracted from microalgae and compost. When added to desert sand, this proprietary formula improves water retention, soil structure, and nutrient availability, accelerating the creation of arable soil from a process that would naturally take years to just under a month.

HyveGeo operates on a diversified business model with multiple revenue streams. The primary market is sustainable agriculture, providing soil regeneration solutions to farmers and landowners in arid climates. By turning desert into productive farmland, the company directly addresses food security challenges in regions like the UAE, which imports over 90% of its food. A second major revenue stream comes from the carbon credit market. The biochar produced permanently sequesters carbon for over 1,000 years, allowing the company to generate and sell high-quality carbon removal credits to corporations and governments. The company has already formed partnerships with state-owned enterprises in the UAE and a Fortune 500 technology company in the US for carbon credit deliveries.

The company is currently in its pilot phase, with initial trials in the UAE demonstrating increased plant yields. Having raised a pre-seed funding round led by SystemaNova.vc and receiving a grant from the UAE's National CSR Fund (Majra), HyveGeo is supported by Hub71, a global technology ecosystem in Abu Dhabi. The firm plans to launch its first commercial facility in 2026, with ambitions to rehabilitate 10,000 hectares of degraded land and sequester one million tons of CO2 by 2035.

Keywords: carbon removal, soil regeneration, microalgae technology, biochar, sustainable agriculture, arid land agriculture, climate tech, food security, desert greening, circular economy, carbon credits, soil health, biostimulants, waste valorization, pyrolysis, UAE innovation, regenerative agriculture, Hub71, water retention, soil amendment