When released, AirForestry’s first drone will enable gentle thinning, leaving no logging trails. Additionally, it is fully electric and could help save up to 0.8 tons of CO2 emissions per hectare and year compared to traditional diesel-based technologies.
By not touching the ground, the terrain beneath the harvested tree suffers minimum impact. Thereby biodiversity in the forest is kept healthy and flourishing thanks to thinning out weak and sick trees.
“We're thrilled about our new investors who believe in the same goal as we do – making forest products more cost-effective and even more sustainable by unlocking all values of the forest,” says AirForestry CEO and Founder Olle Gelin.
He says the company now has a strong position to bring their solution to foresters, so that they can manage their forests effectively and increase productivity, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.
The new 10.3-million-euro funding includes a grant from the Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten). Other investors in the round are Northzone (lead), Sveaskog, Kiko VC, CapitalT, Walerud Ventures and Cloudbreak VC.
“We are confident that Airforestry will play an important role in transforming forest management and restoration and contribute to the global efforts against climate change and biodiversity loss.,” says Samira Aissi, Investment Manager at SEB Greentech VC.
Samia Aissi says she is particularly impressed by the visionary team of founders at AirForestry.
“Their expertise and dedication have already led to remarkable achievements this far. We look forward to supporting their continued success and the positive environmental changes they are driving.”
SEB Greentech invests in green technology, focusing on transformative ideas that promise substantial impact in reducing greenhouse gas emissions or in preventing transgression of the planetary boundaries. The unit has a mandate of 600 million Swedish kronor (53 million euros) and before AirForestry, the unit had made 10 investments.