Chevron, Occidental Invest in CO2 Removal Technology

Canada-based Carbon Engineering said on Wednesday it had received investment from a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp. and the venture capital arm of Chevron Corp. for its technology that removes carbon dioxide directly from the air.

Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, and Chevron Technology Ventures, the venture capital division of Chevron Corporation, have invested an undisclosed sum in Carbon Engineering's so-called direct air capture (DAC) technology.

Founded in 2009, Carbon Engineering developed technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the atmosphere and converts it into low-carbon fuels for transport and for use in enhanced oil recovery.

The firm has been removing CO2 from the atmosphere since 2015 at a pilot plant in British Columbia and converting it into fuel since 2017.Carbon Engineering expects to reach its financing target of $60 million by the end of the first quarter, putting it on track to accelerate the commercialization of its technology, the firm told Reuters.

"(...) These new investments will allow us to accelerate the deployment of our DAC and AIR TO FUELS technologies," said Steve Oldham, chief executive of Carbon Engineering (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," he added.

Extracting vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could help to limit global warming, blamed for causing more heatwaves, wildfires, floods and rising sea levels.

The costs of such technologies are high, however, and a huge number of plants would be needed to make a dent in manmade CO2 emissions.

(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Mark Potter)