Carbon Engineering, a cleantech company in Squamish, BC, has closed an equity financing round of $90 million CAD, which it called the largest private investment made into direct air capture (DAC) to date.
Caron Engineering is helping to address climate change issues by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The company’s DAC technology allows it to capture and purify atmospheric carbon dioxide for under $135 CAD per tonne. Carbon Engineering has also developed another technology, Air to Fuels, in which atmospheric carbon dioxide is able to be recycled into liquid fuel.
The company said it will use the funds to bridge the gap between its DAC and Air to Fuels technologies, while expanding its pilot plant in BC. The money will also go towards the engineering of its first commercial DAC facilities, which are expected to capture up to one million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air each year.
Carbon Engineering now names among its investors, Bill Gates as well as Canadian oil sands financier, Murray Edwards, who owns Canadian Natural Resources (and co-owner of the Calgary Flames). First Round Capital, which has previously funded Uber Technologies, and Lowercase Capital, which funded Twitter and 9Gag, have also invested in the Canadian cleantech company.
Other notable investors include Chevron Technology Ventures and BHP, a multinational, Australian-based mining company.
Caron Engineering said that it is helping to address climate change issues by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and delivering negative emissions by permanently storing it underground. By integrating DAC technology with its Air to Fuels technology, the company is able to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into ultra-low carbon fuels that are able to power existing cars, trucks, and airplanes.
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The company has been capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere since 2015. In the same year, the Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) invested $3 million into Carbon Engineering. The company has been and converting carbon dioxide into fuels since 2017.
“Carbon Engineering’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,” said CEO, Steve Oldham.
Oldman mentioned that this financing round, which is called the largest of its kind into a DAC company, proves recognition of the benefits and commercial readiness of Carbon Engineering’s DAC technology.
The Canadian government has committed $130 million over five years as a part of Budget 2017. That commitment to cleantech was increased in the fall economic update, earmarking $50 million on a cash basis for increasing venture capital available to cleantech companies under the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative.
Featured image courtesy Carbon Engineering.