BHP invests in emissions reduction company

(Posted on 16/03/19)

BHP has announced a US$6m equity investment in Carbon Engineering Ltd (CE), a Canadian-based company leading the development of Direct Air Capture, an innovative technology which has the potential to deliver large-scale negative emissions by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The investment will see BHP obtain a share of the company.

BHP’s Vice President, Sustainability and Climate Change, Fiona Wild said: “BHP is committed to accelerating the global response to climate change by investing in emerging technologies that have the potential to lead to material reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.”

“As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated in late 2018, if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change, technologies that capture and remove CO2 will be required. Direct Air Capture offers flexibility and potential, and could play a vital role in reducing future global emissions. We hope that this investment can accelerate the development and adoption of this technology.”

CE’s CEO, Steve Oldham, welcomed BHP’s investment. “At CE we’re focused on commercialising technologies that can play a critical role in addressing climate change. As we work to deploy our technologies at large scale around the world, we’re thrilled to welcome investment from industry-leading companies like BHP.”

“BHP’s global reach and experience in executing complex projects, as well as their strategic commitment to reducing emissions, make them an ideal partner to help us accelerate the commercialisation and use of CE’s technologies. We’re looking forward to working with BHP and our other partners as we progress the development of DAC and AIR TO FUELS™ facilities, and ultimately achieve our goal of delivering affordable, carbon-neutral fuels and significant emissions reductions around the globe,” said Mr Oldham.

“We know that investing in emerging technologies to reduce emissions is just one part of addressing climate change. At BHP, we also set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for our operations, we build the resilience of our operations and communities to the physical impacts of climate change and we work in partnership with our resource sector peers to improve sectoral performance,” said Dr Wild.