green fuels

Houston company to build renewable gasoline production facility in California

The facility is expected to produce approximately 7 million gallons of renewable gasoline and sequester over 100,000 metric tons of CO2 a year by 2027. Photo via verdecleanfuels.com

A Houston company has announced a new agreement to construct a renewable gasoline production facility on the West Coast. Once up and running, the site is expected to produce approximately 7 million gallons of renewable gasoline and sequester over 100,000 metric tons of CO2 a year by 2027.

Houston-based Verde Clean Fuels (Nasdaq: VGAS), which specializes in fuel production from renewable feedstocks or natural gas, shared earlier this month that it has entered into an agreement to build a gasoline production facility that will use sequestered carbon dioxide to produce about 21,000 gallons per day of renewable gasoline, according to a news release.

The Carbon Dioxide Management Agreement, or CDMA, is between Verde and a joint venture company called Carbon TerraVault, a subsidiary of California Resources Corp. (NYSE: CRC) and Brookfield Renewable (NYSE: BEP). The facility will be built at CRC’s existing Net Zero Industrial Park in Kern County, California. The agreement provides Verde 50 acres of leased space for the facility at CRC’s Net Zero Industrial Park at Elk Hills field on which to construct its facility.

“Traditional gasoline used today is refined from crude oil and makes up over half of greenhouse gas emissions generated by the U.S. transportation sector, the largest contributor to GHG emissions,” Ernest Miller, CEO of Verde, says in the release. “We believe our proprietary technology and scientific approach will further enable California’s consumers of gasoline to seamlessly and materially participate in the critical decarbonization of our atmosphere and help achieve California’s climate goals.

"Our partnership with CTV marks a significant step towards fulfilling our domestic growth ambitions and represents a concrete pathway to decarbonizing the transportation sector," he continues. "By teaming up with the leading carbon management business in the U.S., we are poised to make a substantial impact.”

According to the release, the impact of the production of 21,000 gallons per day of renewable gasoline is equivalent to removing around 22,000 cars off the road.

“Doubling the CO2 storage opportunities under CDMAs at our Net Zero Industrial Park at Elk Hills in a matter of eight months further underscores CRC’s carbon management strategy and dedication to energy transition in California,” Francisco Leon, CRC’s President and CEO, says in the release. “This new agreement between CTV JV and Verde Clean Fuels provides an innovative approach to renewable fuels at the heart of energy development in the state, and further validates CRC’s decarbonization efforts by a publicly traded company looking to expand in California.”

Trending News

A View From HETI

Houston-based Mati Carbon won an award funded by Elon Musk's foundation last year. Now, it has received funding through a new initiative backed by Jeff Bezos. Photo via mati.earth

A Houston-based climatech startup is one of the first 16 companies in the world to receive funding through a new partnership between The Bezos Earth Fund and The Earthshot Prize.

Mati Carbon will receive $100,000 through the Bezos Earth Fund’s Acceleration Initiative. The initiative will provide $4.8 million over three years to support climate and nature solutions startups. It's backed by The Bezos Earth Fund, which was founded through a $10 billion gift from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and aims to "transform the fight against climate change."

The Acceleration Initiative will choose 16 startups each year from The Earthshot Prize’s global pool of nominations that were not selected as finalists. The Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William, awards £1 million to five energy startups each year over a decade.

"The Earthshot Prize selects 15 finalists each year, but our wider pool of nominations represents a global pipeline of innovators and investable solutions that benefit both people and planet. Collaborating with the Bezos Earth Fund to support additional high-potential solutions is at the heart of commitment to working with partners who share our vision," Jason Knauf, CEO of The Earthshot Prize, said in a news release. "By combining our strengths to support 48 carefully selected grantees from The Earthshot Prize’s pool of nominations, our partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund means we will continue to drive systemic change beyond our annual Prize cycle, delivering real-world impact at scale and speed.”

Mati Carbon was founded in 2022 by co-directors Shantanu Agarwal and Rwitwika Bhattacharya. It removes carbon through its Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) program and works with agricultural farms in Africa and India. Mati Carbon says the farmers it partners with are some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

"As one of the first 16 organizations selected, this support enables us to expand our operations, move faster and think bigger about the impact we can create," the company shared in a LinkedIn post.

The other grantees from around the world include:

  • Air Protein Inc.
  • Climatenza Solar
  • Instituto Floresta Viva
  • Forum Konservasi Leuser
  • Fundación Rewilding Argentina
  • Hyperion Robotics
  • InPlanet
  • Lasso
  • Mandai Nature
  • MERMAID
  • Asociación Conservacionista Misión Tiburón
  • Simple Planet
  • Snowchange Cooperative
  • tHEMEat Company
  • UP Catalyst

Mati Carbon also won the $50 million grand prize in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, backed by Elon Musk’s charitable organization, The Musk Foundation, last year.

Trending News