Chevron builds on low-carbon goals with new investment

Chevron Corporation has announced a Series C investment in San Jose-based Blue Planet Systems Corporation , a startup that manufactures and develops carbonate aggregates and carbon capture technology intended to reduce the carbon intensity of industrial operations. 

This marks an ongoing investment by Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV ) to bring external innovative technologies to Chevron with the potential to enhance the way the company produces and delivers affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy now and into the future. 

Carbon capture is goal

This latest investment, in carbon capture and utilisation technologies, builds on Chevron’s growing portfolio of lower-carbon solutions as the US oil giant works towards de-carbonising its operations. 

Founded in 2013, Blue Planet’s technology potentially enables permanent capture of CO2 in building materials at scale, converting CO2 to a lower-carbon product for sale in the growing global market of aggregates. 

“Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage, or CCUS, is viewed to be essential to advancing progress toward the global net zero ambition of the Paris Agreement,” said Barbara Burger, VP of innovation and president of Technology Ventures at Chevron. 

The investment has been made through CTV’s Future Energy Fund, which was set up in 2018 specifically to support startups with low carbon technologies that can scale commercially. This investment in Blue Planet will join CTV’s portfolio of other low-carbon technology investments including Carbon Clean, Natron Energy, Svante and Vutiliti. 

Potential pilot projects

The two companies also signed a letter of intent to collaborate on potential pilot projects and commercial developments in key geographies, with the goal of jointly advancing lower-carbon opportunities. 

Describing Chevron as a leader in “scouting and identifying innovative and game-changing approaches to lower-carbon intensity”, CEO and chief scientist at Blue Planet, Brent Constantz, stated that the investment may also “provide future opportunities to incorporate Blue Planet’s approach into Chevoron’s projects