A red hot summer!

It’s been a very busy summer for Carbon Clean, but I’m glad – we have a lot to do.

A reminder of this came just last week with the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on the ‘physical science basis’ for climate change which sent a ‘code red’ to humanity. The report is categoric that every tonne of CO₂ emissions adds to global warming and that, if we fail to halve carbon emissions by 2030, we can say goodbye to keeping the world below 1.5C.

The planet can’t afford any more inaction and corporates are under growing pressure to demonstrate substantial decarbonisation progress by 2030.

Happily, we are seeing serious action from heavy industry by their c-level commitments to climate change. We have a solution that’s already decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors and making a meaningful contribution to the net zero transition, and demand is growing.

It’s only been a year since we raised $22m and in that time our team has grown by more than 200% and our project pipeline has increased by 550%. Critically, we have used this capital to make further strides in getting the cost of capture down to $30 a tonne – a key milestone that makes widespread carbon capture adoption increasingly accessible!

Excitingly, Carbon Clean is contributing to one of the most developed carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the UK – the Acorn Project. It’s great to be working with some of the industry’s biggest players to develop CCUS that could capture 5-10Mt/yr of CO₂ a year – equivalent to over half the CO₂ emissions set out in the UK government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution by 2030.

It’s good to hear the UK government’s plans to deliver on its commitments outlined in the Energy White Paper. The paper set a radical template to make the UK one of the world’s most attractive locations to develop and launch carbon capture programmes. CCUS in the Prime Minister’s words is “globally necessary” to slashing emissions in hard-to-abate sectors. While there is still work to be done to ensure funding is going to the regional cluster projects and commercially viable technology, we’re all pulling in the right direction.

However, to decarbonise at the required rate, we must look globally. The UN global coalition for net-zero emissions is growing, with 131 countries now having committed to, or currently considering, a target of reducing emissions to net zero by mid-century.

Global expansion remains a priority for Carbon Clean and we are seeing unprecedented interest in low-cost capture technology from all corners of the earth.

We have just received $8m in funding through a Series B extension with CEMEX as a new investor, bringing total capital raised to $30m in 13 months. This new capital will allow us to accelerate the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors across the world.

Looking ahead, we have COP26 in November, hosted at our home in the UK. It will provide a critical moment for governments and businesses to come together to address the critical changes we must make to secure global net zero. The decarbonisation of industry has a crucial role to play in addressing the challenges we face. As the CEO of a clean technology business, I truly believe COP26 represents both an opportunity and an obligation for us to demonstrate this. It gives me great satisfaction that Carbon Clean is positively contributing to the world’s decarbonisation efforts.