BURN Manufacturing Secures Carbon Project Investment

BURN Manufacturing, a renowned global player in producing and distributing clean cookstoves while developing carbon projects, has announced a significant milestone with the successful acquisition of a subsequent carbon project investment from Key Carbon Ltd. (formerly known as CNR “Carbon Neutral Royalty”). This investment, supported by Cartesian, a prominent private equity firm specializing in decarbonization and climate mitigation projects, aims to bolster the distribution of electric cookstoves in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, alongside biomass stoves in Nigeria, the DRC, Tanzania, and Mozambique over the next two years.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the prevalent use of traditional cooking fuels like firewood or charcoal has multifaceted adverse effects on health, the environment, the economy, and gender dynamics. With approximately 950 million people in the region reliant on these traditional fuels and inefficient cooking technologies, the need for cleaner alternatives is paramount.

Investing in BURN’s top-tier electric and biomass cookstoves is anticipated to directly benefit around 1.5 million individuals while preventing over 12 million tons of carbon emissions. Carbon financing has enabled BURN to reduce the prices of its cookstoves, making them more accessible to families with lower incomes.

Peter Scott, Founder and CEO of BURN, expressed enthusiasm about the recent funding, stating, “BURN’s innovative electric and biomass stoves have positively impacted over 24 million people since 2014. With the support from this recent funding, we aim to extend our transformative solutions to an additional 1.5 million people, contributing to a reduction of over 12 million tons of carbon emissions in the next seven years. Last year, our collaboration with Key Carbon facilitated $25 million in financing, allowing us to make our cookstoves more affordable. We are excited to strengthen our partnership with Key Carbon as we strive to secure $1 billion in carbon financing to ensure every household on the continent has access to clean cooking appliances.”

Luke Leslie, Co-Founder and CEO of Key Carbon, highlighted the significance of the investment in the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM), stating, “Key Carbon is attracting institutional investors and corporations to the VCM through the development of appealing investment products. The VCM holds immense potential for advancing climate and biodiversity efforts and benefiting the world’s most vulnerable populations. However, this potential can only be realized if more global asset managers and corporations recognize carbon credits as a viable asset class for investment. Our recent collaboration with Cartesian underscores Key Carbon’s role as a leading platform for investors seeking to fund significant decarbonization initiatives and acquire high-quality carbon credits.”

Peter Yu, Founder and Managing Partner at Cartesian, expressed excitement about the partnership, stating, “BURN stoves deliver numerous benefits to our planet, from improving health and quality of life to enhancing the global environment. We are delighted to collaborate with Key Carbon to support BURN’s continued expansion throughout Africa.”