Mar 6 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Matt Nauman San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

Climos, a San Francisco company, says it can mitigate climate change by putting small amounts of iron in the ocean to spur the growth of carbon-dioxide-absorbing plankton, an idea that has left some environmentalists wary.

Wednesday, the seven-person start-up went from a concept that sounds like the plot of a '50s sci-fi movie to an innovative (and controversial) going concern with the news that it has raised $3.5 million.

Climos seeks to answer whether what it calls "ocean iron fertilization" could be "a meaningful mitigation tool" to fight climate change, said Dan Whaley, its chief executive officer. It will make money by entering the growing carbon-offset market, in which companies like Climos sell credits to companies that produce pollution to make up for their greenhouse-gas emissions.

"Our goal is take up where research has left off and bridge that with the emerging carbon market," Whaley said.

Some environmental groups, such as Greenpeace, have questioned what added iron might do to oceans and their inhabitants.

"The unintended consequences of inducing blooms of plankton in the ocean really have not been studied," said Richard Charter with the Defenders of Wildlife. "I applaud anyone trying to solve the global-warming problem. The question is, what's the other problem that might result. The answer is we don't know."

In response, Whaley noted that Margaret Leinen, his chief science officer, was with the National

Science Foundation before joining the company, and that it has an independent science advisory board.

Here's how it works: Nano-size particles of iron are mixed with seawater, which helps phytoplankton grow. They bloom, absorb carbon dioxide, and when they die, they sink to the deep ocean floor.

This happens naturally, said Whaley, who added that about 85 percent of the world's carbon is stored in the deep ocean. And adding iron will make more of it happen, he said.

The $3.5 million will fund research that will put scientists on boats by 2009, Whaley said. He co-founded GetThere, the first Internet travel company in 1994, and sold it for $750 million (in cash) in 2000 to Sabre.

The funding comes from Braemar Energy Ventures of New York and Elon Musk, a longtime friend of Whaley and chairman of Tesla Motors in San Carlos as well as Space Exploration Technologies.

Musk, in an e-mail, wrote that "oceans have tremendous potential for affordable carbon sequestration." Ocean microorganisms, such as phytoplankton, are very good at absorbing carbon. Plus, "the real estate is free, plankton are super-easy to grow and they bury themselves by sinking to the ocean bottom."

More countries are demanding that pollution-causing industries buy carbon credits. Also, Whaley said, other companies voluntarily buy credits -- he mentioned Google, Yahoo and Nike as prime examples -- to offset any carbon they produce as they seek to become carbon-neutral.

Contact Matt Nauman at mnauman@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5701.