Arbor’s ‘vegetarian rocket engine’ power plant is actually an omnivore

Arbor Energy, founded by former SpaceX engineers, initially developed a power plant technology that burned plant waste to capture atmospheric CO2, dubbing it a “vegetarian rocket engine” for the grid. Recently, the company raised $55 million in a Series A funding round led by Lowercarbon Capital and Voyager Ventures, coinciding with a strategic pivot to an “omnivore” model. This new approach enables the power plant to burn both biomass and natural gas, addressing the growing electricity demand from data centers and the limited availability of biomass feedstock. Arbor’s technology uses oxy-combustion to convert hydrocarbons into syngas and then burns it with pure oxygen, producing CO2 that is easier to capture and sequester. The company plans to leverage tax credits to make carbon storage more cost-effective and will only license its technology to entities committed to carbon capture or sequestration. Despite the shift to include natural gas, Arbor is mindful of methane’s potent greenhouse effect, as leaks in the