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Oxy's $1.3B Texas carbon capture facility on track to​ launch this year

gearing up

Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental, said the company's Stratos DAC project is on track to begin capturing CO2 later this year. Photo via 1pointfive.com

Houston-based Occidental Petroleum is gearing up to start removing CO2 from the atmosphere at its $1.3 billion direct air capture (DAC) project in the Midland-Odessa area.

Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental, said during the company’s recent second-quarter earnings call that the Stratos project — being developed by carbon capture and sequestration subsidiary 1PointFive — is on track to begin capturing CO2 later this year.

“We are immensely proud of the achievements to date and the exceptional record of safety performance as we advance towards commercial startup,” Hollub said of Stratos.

Carbon dioxide captured by Stratos will be stored underground or be used for enhanced oil recovery.

Oxy says Stratos is the world’s largest DAC facility. It’s designed to pull 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the air and either store it underground or use it for enhanced oil recovery. Enhanced oil recovery extracts oil from unproductive reservoirs.

Most of the carbon credits that’ll be generated by Stratos through 2030 have already been sold to organizations such as Airbus, AT&T, All Nippon Airways, Amazon, the Houston Astros, the Houston Texans, JPMorgan, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks and TD Bank.

The infrastructure business of investment manager BlackRock has pumped $550 million into Stratos through a joint venture with 1PointFive.

As it gears up to kick off operations at Stratos, Occidental is also in talks with XRG, the energy investment arm of the United Arab Emirates-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., to form a joint venture for the development of a DAC facility in South Texas. Occidental has been awarded up to $650 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to build the South Texas DAC hub.

The South Texas project, to be located on the storied King Ranch, will be close to industrial facilities and energy infrastructure along the Gulf Coast. Initially, the roughly 165-square-mile site is expected to capture 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, with the potential to store up to 3 billion metric tons of CO2 per year.

“We believe that carbon capture and DAC, in particular, will be instrumental in shaping the future energy landscape,” Hollub said.

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ExxonMobil and Marubeni have signed a long-term deal to supply low-carbon ammonia from Texas to Japan. Photo via exxonmobil.com

ExxonMobil lands major partnership for clean hydrogen facility in Baytown

power deal

Exxon Mobil and Japanese import/export company Marubeni Corp. have signed a long-term offtake agreement for 250,000 tonnes of low-carbon ammonia per year from ExxonMobil’s forthcoming facility in Baytown, Texas.

“This is another positive step forward for our landmark project,” Barry Engle, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, said in a news release. “By using American-produced natural gas we can boost global energy supply, support Japan’s decarbonization goals and create jobs at home. Our strong relationship with Marubeni sets the stage for delivering low-carbon ammonia from the U.S. to Japan for years to come."

The companies plan to produce low-carbon hydrogen with approximately 98% of CO2 removed and low-carbon ammonia. Marubeni will supply the ammonia mainly to Kobe Power Plant, a subsidiary of Kobe Steel, and has also agreed to acquire an equity stake in ExxonMobil’s low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia facility, which is expected to be one of the largest of its kind.

The Baytown facility aims to produce up to 1 billion cubic feet daily of “virtually carbon-free” hydrogen. It can also produce more than 1 million tons of low-carbon ammonia per year. A final investment decision is expected in 2025 that will be contingent on government policy and necessary regulatory permits, according to the release.

The Kobe Power Plant aims to co-fire low-carbon ammonia with existing fuel, and reduce CO2 emissions by Japan’s fiscal year of 2030. Marubeni also aims to assist the decarbonization of Japan’s power sector and steel manufacturing industry, chemical industry, transportation industry and various others sectors.

“Marubeni will take this first step together with ExxonMobil in the aim of establishing a global low-carbon ammonia supply chain for Japan through the supply of low-carbon ammonia to the Kobe Power Plant,” Yoshiaki Yokota, senior managing executive officer at Marubeni Corp., added in the news release. “Additionally, we aim to collaborate beyond this supply chain and strive towards the launch of a global market for low-carbon ammonia. We hope to continue to actively cooperate with ExxonMobil, with a view of utilizing this experience and relationship we have built to strategically decarbonize our power projects in Japan and Southeast Asia in the near future.”

Houston-based Mati Carbon won the global XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, funded by The Musk Foundation. Photo via LinkedIn.

Houston companies win big at Elon Musk-backed carbon removal competition

xprize winners

Houston-based Mati Carbon has won the $50 million grand prize in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, backed by Elon Musk’s charitable organization, The Musk Foundation.

Mati was selected in 2024 as one of 20 global finalists. The company removes carbon through its Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) program that works with agricultural farms in Africa and India.

The 3-year-old startup accelerates the natural process of rock weathering (ERW) by applying pulverized basalt to croplands of partnered smallholder farmers, free of charge. Mati says the farmers it partners with are some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

“Winning this XPRIZE competition is an incredible honor and a definitive validation of our research and development, and building out the infrastructure needed to impact millions of farmers while delivering verifiable carbon dioxide removal at a gigaton scale,” Mati Carbon Founder and CEO Shantanu Agarwal, said in a news release. “I couldn’t be prouder, not just of the Mati team, but of our collaborators, research partners and the thousands of smallholder farmers who let us be part of their lives. This XPRIZE recognition will allow us to collaborate with local partners to accelerate the use of enhanced rock weathering across the Global South.”

Mati reports that it plans to use the award to “scale its efforts working with smallholder farmers worldwide.” Apart from the XPRIZE funding, Mati plans to grow its model through the sale of CDR credits. According to the company, it counts Shopify, Stripe, and H&M among its early carbon credit buyers.

“Mati Carbon’s deployments bolster farmers’ livelihoods through improved soil health, reduced agricultural inputs, and increased income at zero cost to them. Mati Carbon’s team has developed a scientifically rigorous approach to monitoring and verification, and excelled across each of XPRIZE’s prize evaluation criteria – operational, sustainability, and cost metrics – giving the XPRIZE judges the highest confidence in Mati Carbon’s solution’s long-term scalability,” the XPRIZE judges wrote.

Houston-based Vaulted Deep took home the second-runner-up prize in the competition and $8 million for its organic waste storage process. The company provides permanent carbon storage by injecting nonhazardous organic waste deep underground. It spun off with $8 million in seed funding from Advantek Waste Management Services in 2023.

"Our approach is grounded in geomechanical injection techniques that have been safely deployed globally for decades by our team and predecessors," Omar Abou-Sayed, co-founder and executive chairman of Vaulted, said in a separate release. "XPRIZE recognized that this is a proven approach—already in use, delivering impact, and built on the kind of reliability the industry needs to scale responsibly."

Launched in 2021, the four-year XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition challenged global innovators to deploy scalable solutions for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and oceans. More than 1,300 teams from 88 countries competed. XPRIZE finalists were required to remove at least 1,000 tonnes of CO2 over a one-year demonstration period.

French company NetZero took home the first-runner-up prize of $15 million, and London-based UNDO came in as third-runner-up with a $5 million prize.

Since the announcement of the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency has cut climate funding for agencies, projects and research. While the Musk Foundation sponsored the XPRIZE event, it is not affiliated with the California-based organization, according to the Associated Press.

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Fervo Energy closes $462M series E

fresh funding

Houston-based geothermal energy company Fervo Energy has closed an oversubscribed $462 million series E funding round, led by new investor B Capital.

“Fervo is setting the pace for the next era of clean, affordable, and reliable power in the U.S.,” Jeff Johnson, general partner at B Capital, said in a news release. “With surging demand from AI and electrification, the grid urgently needs scalable, always-on solutions, and we believe enhanced geothermal energy is uniquely positioned to deliver. We’re proud to support a team with the technical leadership, commercial traction, and leading execution capabilities to bring the world’s largest next-generation geothermal project online and make 24/7 carbon-free power a reality.”

The financing reflects “strong market confidence in Fervo’s opportunity to make geothermal energy a cornerstone of the 24/7 carbon-free power future,” according to the company. The round also included participation from Google, a longtime Fervo Partner, and other new and returning investors like Devon Energy, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Centaurus Capital. Centaurus Capital also recently committed $75 million in preferred equity to support the construction of Cape Station Phase I, Fervo noted in the release.

The latest funding will support the continued buildout of Fervo’s Utah-based Cape Station development, which is slated to start delivering 100 MW of clean power to the grid beginning in 2026. Cape Station is expected to be the world's largest next-generation geothermal development, according to Fervo. The development of several other projects will also be included in the new round of funding.

“This funding sharpens our path from breakthrough technology to large-scale deployment at Cape Station and beyond,” Tim Latimer, CEO and co-founder of Fervo, added in the news release. “We’re building the clean, firm power fleet the next decade requires, and we’re doing it now.”

Fervo recently won Scaleup of the Year at the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards, and previously raised $205.6 million in capital to help finance the Cape Station earlier this year. The company fully contracted the project's capacity with the addition of a major power purchase agreement from Shell this spring. Fervo’s valuation has been estimated at $1.4 billion and includes investments and support from Bill Gates.

“This new investment makes one thing clear: the time for geothermal is now,” Latimer added in a LinkedIn post. “The world desperately needs new power sources, and with geothermal, that power is clean and reliable. We are ready to meet the moment, and thrilled to have so many great partners on board.”

Air Liquide and Hyundai ink partnership to scale hydrogen economy

green team

Air Liquide, which maintains its U.S. headquartered in Houston, and South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Group are expanding their strategic partnership to accelerate the growth of the global hydrogen ecosystem.

The renewal of the companies’ Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was announced at the Hydrogen Council CEO Summit in Seoul last week. Together, the companies will work to scale hydrogen production, storage, transportation and utilization across Europe, Korea and the United States with a concentration on heavy-duty transport, logistics and public transportation.

Hyundai hopes Air Liquide's technical expertise will help contribute to more sustainable energy and carbon neutrality.

The companies plan to develop hydrogen refueling networks and storage capacity that can meet growing demands. They also plan to commercialize fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) for diverse applications like public transportation, logistics fleets and ports.

"We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with Hyundai Motor Group,” Armelle Levieux, vice president of innovation, electronics and hydrogen at Air Liquide, said in a news release. “Collaborations like this between leaders across the value chain are essential to building the hydrogen economy.”

The partnership has already shown strong progress in South Korea, according to the companies, with Hyundai rolling out more than 2,000 hydrogen buses and 37,000 passenger fuel cell vehicles, with more expected by 2026. Additionally, Air Liquide has boosted supply capabilities in the region with the new state-of-the-art high-pressure hydrogen filling center, Lotte-Air Liquide Ener’Hy, in Daesan, an industrial hub near Seoul.

Air Liquide and Hyundai previously signed an MoU in 2018, along with other major South Korean players, agreeing to grow the hydrogen economy.

Hazardous waste company with Houston presence to make $3B acquisition

big deal

Veolia, a Boston-based company with major operations in Texas, is purchasing hazardous-waste company Clean Earth from Enviri as part of a $3 billion deal.

Veolia is a private water operator, technology provider and hazardous waste and pollution treatment company that operates a large hazardous waste treatment and incineration facility in Port Arthur. Hazardous waste treatment is a growing sector as the clean energy, semiconductor manufacturing, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries generate high levels of waste that need to be handled safely.

Acquiring Clean Earth’s 82 facilities, which include 19 EPA-permitted sites, will expand Veolia’s reach into 10 new states and will position the company as the second-largest hazardous waste operator in the U.S., according to a news release. The deal is Veolia’s sixth and largest North American acquisition of 2025.

“(The acquisition) allows us to unlock the full value potential of our U.S. hazardous waste activities and to double our size on this critical, fast-growing sector, creating a No. 2 player,” Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, said in a news release. “We reinforce our global capacities in hazardous waste and further increase our international footprint.”

Veolia’s Port Arthur facility specializes in servicing generators with large-volume waste treatment requirements.

The transaction is expected to close mid-2026. Veolia hopes the increased exposure into industries such as retail and healthcare will help to offer a full range of environmental services across the U.S.

“This continued transformation of our portfolio enhances the growth profile and strength of our group, uniquely positioned to tackle the sustained demand for environmental security,” Brachlianoff added in the release.

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