Carbon Engineering Ltd. (CE) announced today it has raised gross proceeds of CAD $11 million in its recently closed convertible loan bridge financing round. This investment provides the funding for CE to expand its existing pilot plant and design its first commercial AIR TO FUELSTM plant, which will be the first in the world to commercially sell transportation fuels synthesized from air and clean electricity.
The $11 million convertible loan bridge financing round was raised from both existing CE stakeholders, including board members and employees, and from new investors. This financing was concluded in anticipation of an equity financing, which is expected to be completed as soon as possible.
“We’ve seen a very high level of interest and have had to ask many interested investors to wait for future investment rounds,” said Steve Oldham, CEO of Carbon Engineering. “The response we’ve seen signals a big step forward not only for CE, but for the wider carbon capture and advanced fuels industry, as the scope and size of the business opportunity these technologies offer becomes clear.
“For CE, this investment enables us to aggressively accelerate our go-to-market strategy. We are now actively seeking strategic partners to work with us to build full-scale commercial facilities and customers interested in supply agreements for our ultra-low carbon fuel.”
Closing of the bridge financing round comes just over a month after the firm released research showing that its Direct Air Capture technology – demonstrated in CE’s existing pilot plant – can capture CO2 from the atmosphere at scale for less than USD$100 per ton. This price point, coupled with recent advances in renewable electricity, is what enables the economic viability of CE’s AIR TO FUELSTM process and the ultra-low carbon fuels it can produce.
The proceeds will be used to expand the company’s working pilot plant in Squamish, B.C and to establish the design and partnerships for the company’s initial commercial AIR TO FUELSTM plants. A full commercial AIR TO FUELSTM facility will be capable of producing 320,000 litres of synthetic fuel per day, and capturing one million tons of CO2 per year – the equivalent of the annual emissions of 250,000 average cars.
The financing indicates a period of strong growth for CE, also evident in the company’s increased headcount. Within the last six months, CE has seen a 33 per cent rise in full-time staff numbers with new positions spanning operations, engineering, research and development, business development, and public relations and marketing. The company plans to continue building its employee base in 2018 as it accelerates towards commercial deployment. A list of current opportunities can be found on the company’s website.
