In a major market update, Occidental Petroleum has purchased Holocene Carbon, a direct air capture (DAC) startup based in Knoxville, Tennessee, Heatmap reports.
While the amount of the transaction was not disclosed, this acquisition represents the second addition to Occidental’s DAC portfolio, which also bought Carbon Engineering back in 2023.
The $1.1 billion purchase of Carbon Engineering followed a close collaboration with Occidental on Project Stratos in Ector County, Texas, which, once completed, is expected to be the world’s largest DAC facility, with an annual capture capacity of up to 500,000 tonnes of CO2.
Both of these deals were signed through Occidental’s subsidiary, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures.
The purchase of Holocene and its innovative DAC technology will enable Occidental to combine this solution with the one created by Carbon Engineering, optimizing the DAC processes to increase effectiveness and reduce expenses.
Speaking to Heatmap, Occidental spokesperson William Fitzgerald shared, “We believe combining these technologies will enable us to advance our R&D activities to improve the efficiency of our direct air capture process, reduce CO2 capture costs, and accelerate DAC deployment.”
In 2024, Holocene launched its pilot DAC facility with a CO2 capture capacity of ~10 tonnes per year. Later that year, the startup made headlines by signing a carbon removal deal with Google at the record affordable price of $100 per ton.
Under Occidental’s leadership, Holocene and Carbon Engineering will continue with direct air capture operations, where a portion of the captured CO2 will be sequestered in specialized carbon storage wells.
Relevant: Holocene Unveiled Its First Direct Air Capture Pilot At Demonstration Event
However, another portion of the captured carbon dioxide will also be used for enhanced oil recovery, where the CO2 will be injected into depleted oil wells to increase oil production.
This second captured carbon purpose is causing negative reactions from climate advocates, who warn that these DAC investments might be used as an excuse to produce even more oil.
Besides these realistic concerns, the recent Occidental DAC investment is also seen as a meaningful sign of hope for this technology at a time when many climate projects are being reconsidered by the new U.S. administration.
Read more: Occidental And 1PointFive Secure EPA Class VI Permits For Stratos DAC In Texas
