Cleantech Startup Bioniqa Receives Initial Funding from Bali Investment Club

Startups cleantech Bioniqa announced that it had received initial funding of an undisclosed amount from the Bali Investment Club (BIC). This funding will be used for research and product development needs.

Bioniqa develops photobioreactors that can convert carbon footprints into carbon and oxygen credits. They adopted a local approach that was claimed to be unprecedented in Indonesia in combating the issue of air pollution in urban centers.

"The unique photobioreactive that we have can accommodate algae in a controlled environment, which can absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. This is not just a machine, but an ecosystem that can clean the air we breathe, making cities more livable," said Co-Founder. and Bioniqa President Andre Hutagalung via official broadcast.

Bioniqa was founded in 2023 by RaMa Raditya and Andre Hutagalung. Both are known as founders of developer startups smart cityQlue. Currently, Bioniqa has operated installations in childcare centers in the Jakarta area, and the target is to be aggressively installed in large schools in a number of cities.

Bioniqa targets the B2C sector in the upper middle segment, including luxury residential and vertical apartments; B2B sector, including office buildings, retail spaces; as well as the B2G sector through partnerships with government facilities, and high-traffic public spaces.

The claim is that one Bioniqa photobioreactor has improved outdoor air quality by 60% -80% in an area of ​​150 square meters within 24 hours. Then, this machine can offset 165 to 240 kg of carbon emissions every year, and produce 6.800 liters of oxygen every year.

Through this funding, Bioniqa will develop a laboratory and algae plantation, and increase photobioreactor capabilities through IoT technology.

Nicolo Castiglione, Managing Partner of the Bali Investment Club, said that this is the right moment to invest in responding to the air pollution crisis that Jakarta has faced over the last few months.

"One machine is currently equivalent to 80 trees in O production² and 20 trees to reduce CO². In a dense city like Jakarta, we cannot plant trees just anywhere and it takes years before the trees grow. Bioniqa is here to solve this problem by combining nature and technology."

Some time ago, the government launched the Indonesian Carbon Exchange (IDXCarbon), responding to Indonesia's target to achieve a reduction in carbon emissions to 31,89% by 2030. The legal umbrella has also been issued through OJK Regulation (POJK) Number 14 of 2023 which will become a guideline and reference for carbon trading.

The launch of the Indonesian Carbon Exchange also responds to the growing need for solutions in the field of green technology (cleantech), especially decarbonization, which was followed by the emergence of innovation developers in the carbon sector.

Some of them are Fairatmos which is developing a platform to accelerate carbon absorption, as well as Tiket.in which uses IoT and satellite technology to analyze carbon footprints.