Since mid-2013, Barbara Burger has been president of Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV), the strategic investment arm of US-based oil and gas producer Chevron.
In February 2021, CTV launched a $300m vehicle called Future Energy Fund II to fund developers of clean energy technology. It will back developers of technology that can help reduce carbon emissions, covering areas such as industrial decarbonisation, mobility technology, the decentralisation of the energy structure and circular carbon technology.
The fund is the eighth to be formed by the unit since it was launched in 1999 and it is the successor to the first Future Energy Fund, which was formed in 2018 with $100m in capital.
Chevron has backed 10 companies including carbon capture technology developers Carbon Engineering and Blue Planet, carbon removal system developer Carbon Clean and ChargePoint, the operator of an electric vehicle charging network, through the first fund.
Burger said: “We continue to take meaningful actions to address the challenges and opportunities of the global energy transition.
“I am proud that our second Future Energy Fund has the potential to make energy and global supply chains more sustainable by helping industries and our customers build a lower-carbon future.”
In recent months, CTV invested in industrial internet-of-things technology provider Seeq, low-cost floating offshore wind turbine foundation creator Ocergy, carbon-free ammonia and hydrogen production technology developer Starfire Energy and carbon capture technology developer Svante.
Meanwhile, the unit exited autonomous taxi developer Voyage in an acquisition by driverless vehicle technology provider Cruise in March 2021. Another portfolio company ChargePoint went public in March 2021 through a reverse merger with Switchback Energy Acquisition in September 2020.
In April 2019, CTV launched the $90m Fund VII, which invests in early and mid-stage, high-growth companies developing innovative oil and gas technologies, and will continue to participate in external funds as a limited partner.
Burger said: “CTV serves as an excellent source within Chevron for new business models and novel technologies that can deliver value to the enterprise through their integration.
“We are using venture capital as a conduit for early access to innovation and to build a pipeline of innovation for Chevron.”
The unit also launched the $100m Future Energy Fund in June 2018. “The investment focus for Future Energy Fund will be different from our earlier funds,” Burger said in an interview with Global Corporate Venturing.
“It will be focused on technologies that enable emissions reduction in oil and gas operations as well as investments in technologies that may break through or disrupt the energy vertical in the future.
“We have had investments in this space in the past but having a parallel fund in our organisation brings specific focus to this area. We will, however, manage the fund using the practices we have developed over nearly 20 years.”
Burger started as a research chemist in Chevron’s Richmond Laboratory. She went on to a number of management positions, including in lubricants, where she was vice-president for the global supply chain and base oils.
She is on the board of the Houston Technology Centre, a technology and business incubator, and also on the US Department of Energy National Renewable Laboratory External Advisory Council and the governing board of the MIT Energy Initiative.
