Shell, Mitsubishi Invest $17M In Hybrid Direct Air Capture Startup

DAC developer Avnos will use the funding to build its first commercial-scale facility for its technology that pulls CO2 and water from the atmosphere.

Emissions spew from a large stack at the coal-fired Brandon Shores Power Plant, on March 9, 2018, in Baltimore, Maryland. Mark Wilson via Getty Images Listen to the article 3 min

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Dive Brief:

• Automaker Mitsubishi Corporation and Shell’s U.S. gas and power business are investing up to $17 million in New Jersey-based hybrid direct air capture startup Avnos, allowing the company to build its first commercial-scale facility.

• Avnos, which uses an air capture process that also captures water, will build a facility capable of annually capturing 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide and producing 6,000 tons of clean water, the startup announced Thursday. The facility is expected to come online by the end of 2026.

• Shell previously invested in Avnos, being one of three companies — along with ConocoPhillips and JetBlue — to sign a multi-year strategic and investment partnership totaling over $80 million with the startup in 2023.

Dive Insight:

Typical direct air capture methods are currently energy intensive due to the heat needed to meet the operating temperature of most technologies, according to the International Energy Agency, and also come with water consumption needs. However, Avnos uses a hybrid model that pulls both CO2 and water from the air and creates clean water as a byproduct, and its technology eliminates the need for heat as an input by using a moisture-based absorbent rather than a thermal-based one.

The new facility will have four hybrid DAC systems at a site yet to be announced, but is planned to be located in the U.S., according to the release. Avnos CEO Will Kain said in the release that the new project shows that “carbon removal can be real, repeatable and scalable.”

“This collaboration validates that Avnos’ HDAC technology can deliver carbon removal under real-world conditions, without the heat and water constraints that limit conventional DAC,” Kain said. “We’re building a replicable blueprint to scale HDAC worldwide.”

Following the early investments from Shell, ConocoPhillips, and JetBlue, Avnos announced a $36 million funding round in February last year led by NextEra Energy Resources. Shell also participated in that funding round, along with the venture arm of aerospace company Safran Group, Korea-based venture capital firm Envisioning Partners, and sustainable investor Rusheen Capital Management.

Earlier this year, Avnos broke ground on a demonstration unit in Bridgewater, New Jersey, that is located at its operational research and development facility, in a project funded by the Office of Naval Research.

Following Thursday’s announcement, Avnos said it has “secured access to more than $100 million” in public and private financing.