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Fort Capital Partners is pleased to announce that Carbon Engineering (“CE“) completed an equity financing of US$68 million equity in March 2019 (the “Placement”), marking the largest private investment made into a Direct Air Capture (“DAC“) company to date.
CE has been developing DAC technology since 2009 and capturing CO₂ from the atmosphere at a pilot plant in Squamish, B.C. since 2015. DAC plants are location-independent and can be co-located with an oilfield operation for enhanced oil recovery (“EOR“). Subsequent to closing of the Placement, CE and Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (“OLCV“), which participated in the offering, announced that they will together proceed with the engineering and design of the world’s largest DAC and sequestration facility, to be located in the Permian Basin.
Speaking about the Placement, CE’s Chief Executive Officer, Steve Oldham said, “This financing round – the largest of its kind into a DAC company – shows the growing recognition of both the benefits and commercial readiness of our DAC technology. As the world assesses how to address climate change while keeping economies running with the energy they need, our technology can provide a key part of the solution.
“CE’s DAC technology can be deployed to help companies and nations alike meet their climate change commitments and achieve significant emissions reductions, while at the same time creating opportunities for jobs, economic growth, and investment. Our DAC technology has been proven based on extensive testing in our pilot facility, and we’re ready to scale up using existing commercial equipment to deploy reliable and cost-effective facilities. DAC is a viable tool for reducing emissions while continuing to provide affordable energy.”
Proceeds from the offering of Preferred Shares will allow CE to bridge the gap from the pilot demonstration of the company’s DAC and AIR TO FUELS™ technologies to mainstream market deployment. The funding enables expansion of CE’s pilot plant in Squamish, and the engineering of first commercial facilities. Industrial-scale DAC facilities can capture up to one million tonnes of CO₂ from the air each year.
CE welcomed a host of new private investors through the Placement, including global energy companies and top venture capital firms. CE’s investors now include Bill Gates, Murray Edwards, OLCV, BHP, Chevron Technology Ventures, Bethel Lands Corporation, Carbon Order, First Round Capital, Lowercase Capital, Rusheen Capital Management, Starlight Ventures, Thomvest Asset Management (an affiliate of Peter J. Thomson), the Benjamin Family, the Hodgkinson Family, and the Hutchison Family.
Fort Capital Securities Ltd. acted as agent to Carbon Engineering on the placement of Preferred Shares.