Chevron Invests in CO2 Capture Startup

US major Chevron announced on January 14 that it had made a Series C investment in San Jose-based Blue Planet Systems Corp, a startup that manufactures and develops carbonate aggregates and carbon-capture technology to reduce emissions from industrial operations.

Chevron and Blue Planet also signed a letter of intent to work together at potential pilot projects and commercial development in key geographies, the oil and gas producer said.

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Blue Planet, founded in 2013, creates carbonate-based building aggregate made from flue gas-captured CO₂. Its process is distinct from other industrial carbon capture and utilisation technologies, Chevron said, as it does not require CO₂ purification and enrichment prior to use. This can reduce cost and unit energy consumed during capture, and potentially enables the permanent capture of CO₂ in building materials at scale, converting CO₂ to a lower-carbon product for sale in the expanding global market of aggregates, it said.

"Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) is viewed to be essential to advancing progress toward the global net zero ambition of the Paris Agreement," Chevron Technology Ventures president Barbara Burger said. "This investment is made through our Future Energy Fund which focuses on startups with lower-carbon technologies that can scale commercially, and we welcome Blue Planet to this portfolio."

"Chevron is a leader in scouting and identifying innovative and game-changing approaches to lower-carbon intensity," Blue Planet CEO and founder Brent Constantz added. "The investment may also provide future opportunities to incorporate Blue Planet’s approach into Chevron’s projects."