Carbon Engineering

This article is about the company. For the processes, see Carbon engineering (disambiguation).
Carbon Engineering Ltd.
Company typePrivate
IndustryDirect air capture
Founded2009 Edit this on Wikidata
HeadquartersSquamish, British Columbia, Canada
Key people
Daniel Friedmann, Chief Executive Officer, Board Chair
Kerri L. Fox, Chief Financial Officer
David Keith, Founder, Board Member
Websitecarbonengineering.com

Carbon Engineering Ltd. is a Canadian-based clean energy company focusing on the commercialization of direct air capture (DAC) technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the atmosphere.[1][2]

This captured CO2 can either be stored underground, or converted into carbon-neutral fuel using renewable energy sources, by a process the company calls "air to fuels".[3] The company is running a pilot plant in Squamish, British Columbia, removing CO2 from the atmosphere since 2015 and converting it into fuels since December 2017.[4]

The company was founded in 2009 by David Keith, now a professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago,[5] and is now led by Daniel Friedmann as CEO, who served as the former CEO of Canadian aerospace company, MDA, for 20 years.[6]

Carbon Engineering is funded by several government and sustainability-focused agencies as well as by private investors, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates and oil sands financier N. Murray Edwards.[7][8][9] In addition, in 2019 the company received US$68 million from private investors, including fossil fuel companies Chevron Corporation, Occidental Petroleum, and BHP.[10] In August 2023, Occidental Petroleum bought Carbon Engineering for $1.1B, with payments over 3 years, and the intention to build 100 DAC plants.[11]

  1. ^ Peters, Adele (2015-09-21). "These Enormous Fans Suck CO2 Out Of The Air And Turn It Into Fuel". Fastcoexist.com. Fast Company. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. ^ Harris, Richard. "This Machine Can Suck Carbon Out Of The Air". NPR. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  3. ^ Roberts, David (2018-06-14). "Sucking carbon out of the air won't solve climate change". Vox. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  4. ^ Clifford Krauss (April 8, 2019). "Big Oil Bets on Carbon Removal". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Karstens-Smith, Gemma. "Carbon Engineering unveils groundbreaking carbon capture project in Squamish, B.C." CBC News. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  6. ^ Carbon Engineering Ltd. (2022-01-10). "Carbon Engineering Announces Leadership Transition". Archived from the original on 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  7. ^ Hamilton, Tyler (8 October 2015). "Snatching CO2 back from the air". TheStar.com. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd.
  8. ^ Eisenberg, Anne (2013-01-05). "Pulling Carbon Dioxide Out of Thin Air". New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  9. ^ Gunther, Marc (7 October 2011). "The business of cooling the planet". FORTUNE. Time Inc.
  10. ^ Silcoff, Sean (21 March 2019). "B.C.'s Carbon Engineering secures $68-million to commercialize CO2-removal technology". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  11. ^ Valle, Sabrina; Bose, Sourasis; Valle, Sabrina (2023-08-15). "Occidental buys carbon air capture tech firm for $1.1 billion". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-10-11.