CHF 500k · Grant · Cleantech · Zurich, Switzerland
Zurich-based Tivano has secured a CHF 500k rollout grant from REPIC to expand its carbon-removal work in Namibia. Reporting linked to the award says the funding will help move the company's operating model from demonstration projects toward larger deployment, including work on its next carbon vault.
Tivano removes unwanted woody vegetation from Namibian savanna and stores the harvested biomass underground so that its carbon does not return to the atmosphere through decomposition. The company sells the resulting removal as carbon credits, pairing that revenue model with land restoration and local project work.
Scaling a measured removal process
The company's first project, Dragonfly, is registered with Puro.earth under its Terrestrial Storage of Biomass methodology. The registry records 1,049 carbon-removal credits issued on 30 March 2026, with a durability category of more than 100 years. Tivano says Dragonfly treated 120 hectares near Otjiwarongo, where selective harvesting is intended to reduce bush encroachment and allow grassland to recover.
That sequence matters commercially. Tivano has to source and harvest suitable biomass, build vaults, keep the material from decomposing, measure conditions over time and pass third-party verification before credits can be sold. A larger project therefore scales as an operating and monitoring system, not simply as more storage volume. Buyers are ultimately paying for a quantified removal claim, so registry evidence and consistent field execution are part of the product.
Grant capital for the rollout stage
REPIC's rollout instrument is designed for early-commercial projects that have already completed a prototype or pilot phase. Its standard contribution is capped at 50% of project cost and CHF 500k, which means the award can de-risk deployment but does not replace the rest of the financing needed to build and operate projects.
Reporting on the award says Tivano is advancing a second project, Butterfly, with its first vault under construction. The useful milestone will be whether the company can repeat Dragonfly's certification path at a larger scale while maintaining monitoring quality and predictable unit economics. The grant gives Tivano non-dilutive capital for that transition; commercial durability will depend on verified tonnes, repeat buyers and reliable local delivery rather than the grant alone.
Sources checked:
Dealroom Impact · Tivano company website · Puro.earth registry · REPIC · Tech.eu Funding Explorer
