❓WHAT HAPPENED: A geoengineering startup, Stardust Solutions, has raised $60 million to develop technology capable of dimming the Sun.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Stardust Solutions, CEO Yanai Yedvab, Silicon Valley investors, and an Italian industrial dynasty.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The company plans to begin controlled outdoor experiments next April, releasing particles at an altitude of eleven miles.
💬KEY QUOTE: “We will only participate in deployment, which will be done under adequate governance led by governments.” – Yanai Yedvab
🎯IMPACT: The project faces skepticism over governance, unknown risks, and criticism from climate scientists and economists.
Stardust Solutions, a geoengineering startup, has raised $60 million to develop technology that aims to dim the Sun by spraying aerosol particles into the atmosphere. The funding round is the largest-ever for a company in this sector and includes investments from Silicon Valley figures and an Italian industrial dynasty.
The company’s CEO, Yanai Yedvab, a former Israeli government physicist, explained that their approach involves “solar radiation management” to redirect the Sun’s rays. However, he acknowledged that this would not entirely eliminate climate risks. “There will still be extreme weather events,” he said in a recent interview.
Unlike previous geoengineering efforts led by universities and nonprofits, Stardust Solutions is a private entity. The company claims it is working on a proprietary particle that is scalable, cost-effective, and safe. Yedvab stated that they aim to develop a particle “as safe as, say, flour” and are seeking a patent for it.
The startup plans to begin “controlled outdoor experiments” in April, releasing particles from a modified plane at an altitude of eleven miles. However, the concept has drawn criticism, with concerns over governance and unknown risks. Some scientists, including University of Chicago professor David Keith, have expressed doubts about the feasibility of creating a particle superior to sulfates, a common option in geoengineering research.
Critics also question the startup’s long-term viability and the role of private entities in addressing global climate challenges. “They have convinced Silicon Valley [venture capitalists] to give them a lot of money, and I would say that they shouldn’t have,” climate economist Gernot Wagner cautions. Yedvab, however, emphasized that deployment would only occur under clear governance led by governments.
Image by William M. Connolley.
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