Canada-based carbon capture technology developer Carbon Engineering has closed a $68m funding round featuring petroleum suppliers Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Chevron, mining group BHP and property developer Bethel Lands Corporation.
The round also included First Round, Lowercase Capital, Rusheen Capital Management, Starlight Ventures, Thomvest Asset Management, Carbon Order, private investors Bill Gates and Murray Edwards and the Benjamin, Hodgkinson and Hutchison families.
Occidental and Chevron participated in the round through respective subsidiaries Oxy Low Carbon Ventures and Chevron Technology Ventures, which invested in January this year. BHP contributed $6m according to Reuters.
Founded in 2009, Carbon Engineering is developing technology intended to capture carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and convert it into ultra-low carbon fuels that could be used to power cars, trucks and airplanes.
The company claims its direct air capture (DAC) technology can capture and purify atmospheric carbon dioxide at a price of less than $100 per tonne. The funding will support the expansion of its pilot plant and the engineering of its first commercial facilities.
Carbon Engineering had previously received $8.3m in a July 2018 convertible loan bridge round, securing the financing from a consortium that included some of its employees.
Steve Oldham, CEO of Carbon Engineering, 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.”