making moves

Chevron supports 2 carbon emissions tech startups

Two startups have recently announced support from Houston-based Chevron Technology Ventures. Photo via Getty Images

Chevron Technology Ventures has added two startups to its portfolio — one to its startup accelerator and one via an investment.

Delaware-based Compact Membrane Systems closed an oversubscribed series A funding round of $16.5 million led by Pangaea Ventures. CTV also contributed to the round, along with GC Ventures, Solvay Ventures, and Technip Energies.

CMS's technology is targeting carbon capture in traditionally hard-to-abate sectors, such as steel, cement, etc., which represent more than a tenth of worldwide emissions. The CMS platform, which operates in a 10,000-square-foot lab and manufacturing facility in Delaware, is a fully electrified and low-cost solution.

“We are delighted to have secured such a strong group of investors who share our vision for delivering a revolutionary carbon capture technology for industrial applications,” says Erica Nemser, CEO of Compact Membrane Systems, in a news release. “This oversubscribed funding round catalyzes our ability to deliver large projects. Deployment of our commercial systems by 2026 will have measurable environmental and economic benefits to our customers and society.”

It's the latest investment from CTV's $300 million Future Energy Fund II, which specifically "focuses on industrial decarbonization, emerging mobility, energy decentralization, and the growing circular economy," says Jim Gable, vice president of innovation at Chevron and president of CTV.

“The technology that CMS has developed has the potential to drive further efficiencies and cost reduction along the CCUS value chain, supporting decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors and complementing our existing portfolio of investments in this space,” Gable says in the release.

The company is planning to use its new funding to further develop and commercialize its product by 2026.

Another startup has announced support from Chevron last month. Calgary, Alberta-based Arolytics Inc. announced last month that its been accepted into CTV's Catalyst Program. The company has an emissions software and data analytics platform for the oil and gas sector, and the program will help it further develop and deploy its technology.

"Being selected for the Catalyst Program is an amazing opportunity for Arolytics," says Liz O'Connell, CEO of Arolytics, in a news release. "The interest from Chevron demonstrates the oil and gas industry's desire to reduce emissions. It aligns closely with Arolytics' mission to build and execute efficient emissions management programs that enable industry to become leaders in emissions management."

Arolytics' technology, which includes AroViz, an emissions management software, and AroFEMP, an emissions forecasting model, targets methane emissions specifically, per the release.

Launched in 2017, the CTV Catalyst Program accelerates early-stage companies that are working on innovations within the energy industry. Arolytics will use the program to make key connections, identify important use cases, and expand into the U.S. Market.

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A View From HETI

A team from UH has published two breakthrough studies that could help cut costs and boost efficiency in carbon capture. Photo courtesy UH.

A team of researchers at the University of Houston has made two breakthroughs in addressing climate change and potentially reducing the cost of capturing harmful emissions from power plants.

Led by Professor Mim Rahimi at UH’s Cullen College of Engineering, the team released two significant publications that made significant strides relating to carbon capture processes. The first, published in Nature Communications, introduced a membraneless electrochemical process that cuts energy requirements and costs for amine-based carbon dioxide capture during the acid gas sweetening process. Another, featured on the cover of ES&T Engineering, demonstrated a vanadium redox flow system capable of both capturing carbon and storing renewable energy.

“These publications reflect our group’s commitment to fundamental electrochemical innovation and real-world applicability,” Rahimi said in a news release. “From membraneless systems to scalable flow systems, we’re charting pathways to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors and support the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

According to the researchers, the “A Membraneless Electrochemically Mediated Amine Regeneration for Carbon Capture” research paper marked the beginning of the team’s first focus. The research examined the replacement of costly ion-exchange membranes with gas diffusion electrodes. They found that the membranes were the most expensive part of the system, and they were also a major cause of performance issues and high maintenance costs.

The researchers achieved more than 90 percent CO2 removal (nearly 50 percent more than traditional approaches) by engineering the gas diffusion electrodes. According to PhD student and co-author of the paper Ahmad Hassan, the capture costs approximately $70 per metric ton of CO2, which is competitive with other innovative scrubbing techniques.

“By removing the membrane and the associated hardware, we’ve streamlined the EMAR workflow and dramatically cut energy use,” Hassan said in the news release. “This opens the door to retrofitting existing industrial exhaust systems with a compact, low-cost carbon capture module.”

The second breakthrough, published by PhD student Mohsen Afshari, displayed a reversible flow battery architecture that absorbs CO2 during charging and releases it upon discharge. The results suggested that the technology could potentially provide carbon removal and grid balancing when used with intermittent renewables, such as solar or wind power.

“Integrating carbon capture directly into a redox flow battery lets us tackle two challenges in one device,” Afshari said in the release. “Our front-cover feature highlights its potential to smooth out renewable generation while sequestering CO2.”

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