fresh funding

Chevron backs carbon capture tech company in $45M investment round

Boulder, Colorado-based ION Clean Energy announces it has raised $45 million in financing. Photo via Getty Images

Chevron New Energies has a new cleantech company in its portfolio.

Boulder, Colorado-based ION Clean Energy announces it has raised $45 million in financing. The round was led by Chevron New Energies with participation from New York-based Carbon Direct Capital. Founded in 2008, ION's carbon dioxide capture technologies lower costs and make CO2 capture a more viable option for hard-to-abate emissions.

“We have truly special solvent technology. It is capable of very high capture efficiency with low energy use while simultaneously being exceptionally resistant to degradation with virtually undetectable emissions. That’s a pretty powerful combination that sets us apart from the competition. The investments from Chevron and Carbon Direct Capital are a huge testament to the hard work of our team and the potential of our technology,” ION founder and Executive Chairman Buz Brown says in a news release. “We appreciate their collaboration and with their investments we expect to accelerate commercial deployment of our technology so that we can realize the kind of wide-ranging commercial and environmental impact we’ve long envisioned.”

The funding will go toward ION’s organizational growth and commercial deployment of its ICE-31 liquid amine carbon capture technology.

“We continue to make progress on our goal to deliver the full value chain of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) as a business, and we believe ION is a part of this solution. ION has consistent proof points in technology performance, recognition from the Department of Energy, partnerships with global brands, and a strong book of business that it brings to the relationship,” Chris Powers, vice president of CCUS and emerging with CNE, says in the release. “ION’s solvent technology, combined with Chevron’s assets and capabilities, has the potential to reach numerous emitters and support our ambitions of a lower carbon future. We believe collaborations like this are essential to our efforts to grow carbon capture on a global scale.”

With the new investment, the company announced that Timothy Vail will join the company as CEO. He previously was CEO of Arbor Renewable Gas and founder and CEO of G2X Energy Inc. He also serves as an Operating Partner for OGCI Climate Investments.

"With these investments, we are well positioned to grow ION into a worldwide provider of high-performance point source capture solutions,” Vail says. “This capital allows us to accelerate the commercial deployment of our carbon capture technology.”

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A View From HETI

Scott Gale, executive director for Halliburton Labs, has died after a hard-fought battle with cancer. Photo via Rice University

Houston energy and innovation leader Scott Gale died on September 24 after a years-long fight with cancer. He was 40 years old.

Gale was the inaugural executive director for Halliburton Labs, which launched in 2020. Prior to that role, he lead global strategy initiatives for Halliburton. A Brigham Young University graduate, he received his MBA from Rice University in 2019, where he co-founded the Jones Student Association for Executives. After his graduation, he served on the the Rice Business Alumni Association Board and the Energy Advisory Board for the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator.

"Scott made an impact with his incredible kindness, energy, and talent," Dale Winger, managing director at Halliburton Labs, tells InnovationMap. "Scott was passionate about his family, his friends, his community, and his work. He provided incredible creativity and drive to bring Halliburton Labs to life within Halliburton, and despite a terrible cancer diagnosis, Scott continued to collaborate and build connections that launched the inaugural Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week. Work and play were always fun with Scott. His generosity and dedication to strengthen the Houston innovation ecosystem will be missed, yet his legacy endures.”

Gale was also a voice actor and the co-host of two podcasts: Rice University's Owl Have You Know Podcast, which shares experiences of Rice's business community, and the Curiosity podcast, which explored optimism and curiosity with guests and co-host Brad Rossacci.

"A rebellious optimist at his core, Scott believed we need a biased toward action, a mission focused belief system, and a healthy dose of rebellion for good measure," Rossacci, who serves as creative director at Accenture, says. "Carving his own path in the universe, Scott discovered his life’s work and unceasingly committed himself to helping humanity deepen their curiosity, building connective tissue across society, and advancing the future of energy on the shoulders of the giants who came before him. Ultimately, fulfilling his infinite ambitions and creating an echo that will reverberate in the cosmos for eternity."

One month ago, he stepped away from his role at Halliburton Labs, sharing his cancer journey in a message shared on LinkedIn. In the post, he encouraged his whole community to "go out and live a life that echoes," and ended with "onward," something Gale regularly imparted when he spoke on progress within energy and innovation.

Earlier this month during the Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week, which Gale was instrumental in creating but unable to attend due to the progression of his illness, the Energy Tech Nexus awarded its Nexus Community Award to Gale, and his father, Andrew Gale, accepted the award on his behalf.

"He is very focused on the community in Houston and the tech industry," Andrew Gale said about his son when accepting the award, "he feels so honored to be given the opportunity to be able to have an influence."

In addition to his father and his mother, JoAnna, Scott is survived by his wife of 18 years, Nicole, and their four children, as well as his seven siblings — Siara, Shanna, Spencer, Seth, Shalya, Sam, and Shane. In honor of his brother, Sam launched a GoFundMe campaign for his nieces and nephew's education, and donations are currently being accepted.

In his obituary, his family shared something Scott regularly said as he battled his cancer with countless hospital visits and experimental treatments: “I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure if you die, the cancer dies at the same time. That’s not a loss. That’s a draw.”

Earlier this year, he joined the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week and call for collaboration within the ecosystem.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

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