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Fort Capital Partners is pleased to announce that Carbon Engineering (“CE“) has received equity investment from two global energy companies – Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, LLC (“OLCV“), a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) and Chevron Technology Ventures (“CTV“), the venture capital arm of Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX). These investments will accelerate the commercialization of CE’s proven Direct Air Capture (“DAC“) technology that removes carbon dioxide directly from the air.
This investment highlights the first significant collaboration between a DAC developer and the energy industry, with two global energy leaders investing in DAC as a mechanism to reduce emissions from transportation and enable permanent capture of existing atmospheric CO2 that can be utilized both in oil production and in direct synthesis of fuels.
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“).
In June 2018, CE released research showing that its DAC technology can capture CO₂ from the atmosphere at scale for less than USD$100 per ton. This breakthrough cost, coupled with ongoing advances in renewable electricity, is what enables the economic viability of CE’s AIR TO FUELS™ process and the ultra-low carbon fuels it can produce.
“CE’s relationships with Occidental and Chevron, and these new investments, will allow us to accelerate the deployment of our DAC and AIR TO FUELS™ technologies,” said Steve Oldham, CEO of CE. “With an increasing focus worldwide on the need for aggressive emissions reductions, CE’s technology can play a major role, and energy industry leaders like Occidental and Chevron will greatly accelerate commercialization of CE’s technology.”
Mr. Oldham added, “It is a very important time for the air capture field right now. We’re seeing leading jurisdictions, like California and British Columbia, creating markets for low carbon fuels and technologies like DAC, through effective climate policy. These efficient market-based regulations, and action from energy industry leaders like Occidental and Chevron, show the power of policy in driving innovation and achieving emissions reductions while delivering reliable and affordable energy.”
Fort Capital Partners has advised Carbon Engineering with respect to the placement of equity and continues to work with the company toward completion of a targeted US$60M Series A funding in the first quarter of 2019.