It’s a love story. Autry, just say yes.

DOE announces $100 million for carbon removal technology

• The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces a $100 million investment to support carbon dioxide removal technologies.

• Funding will facilitate pilot projects and testing facilities for various carbon dioxide removal pathways.

• Technologies aim to directly remove CO2 from the atmosphere, storing it in geological, biobased, or ocean reservoirs or converting it into value-added products.

• DOE’s Carbon Negative Shot initiative, launched in 2021, targets reducing the cost of CO2 removal to less than $100 per net metric ton by 2032.

• Funding opportunity focuses on three areas: small biomass carbon removal and storage pilots, small mineralization pilots, and multi-pathways carbon dioxide removal testbed facilities.

   

Lilac raises $145 million Series C for lithium extraction

• Lilac Solutions has concluded its Series C funding round, securing $145 million, thus bringing its total capital raised to $315 million.

• This funding round was led by Mercuria, Lowercarbon Capital, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Additionally, it saw participation from major existing shareholders such as T. Rowe Price, Engine Ventures, Aventurine, Sumitomo, and BMW i Ventures, among others.

• New investors include Mitsubishi and The Nature Conservancy.

• Funds used for scaling up the manufacturing capacity of proprietary ion-exchange (IX) material and facilitating global commercial deployment.

• By employing an ion exchange process, Lilac effectively eliminates the necessity for evaporation ponds and drastically reduces freshwater consumption, presenting an environmentally sustainable solution.

• The company’s innovation lies in the development of durable ceramic materials for lithium recovery, extending the cycle life to over 3,000 cycles.

• Rigorous testing and successful field pilots have validated the efficacy of Lilac’s technology, positioning it for seamless integration into mega-scale projects worldwide.

• Here’s a blog post by the CEO Dave Snydacker

Inyarek Partners launches focused on energy transition investments

• Inyarek Partners launches with a focus on energy transition investing.

• The firm aims to identify and cultivate asset development opportunities supporting the energy transition.

• Investments will be made through direct investment vehicles and traditional commingled funds.

• Led by energy investment veterans Brett Estwanik, Paul Kaboub, and Chris Stoeckle.

• Strategy targets equity investments in the $50M-$150M range, focusing on lower-carbon fuels, distributed power, and the transition value chain.

• Inyarek’s first investment is in Redtail Renewables, a renewable natural gas platform focused on decarbonization.

Diamondback acquires Endeavor in $26 billion deal

• Diamondback Energy to acquire Endeavor Energy Partners in a $26 billion cash-and-stock deal, resulting in the third-largest oil and gas producer in the Permian Basin.

• Aimed to boost production and secure future drilling inventory.

• Combined company to pump 816,000 barrels of oil and gas per day.

• Deal includes 117.3 million shares of Diamondback common stock and $8 billion in cash.

• The combined company becomes the only pure-play Permian oil producer outside of Pioneer.

• Deal ensures continued influence of Endeavor founder Autry Stephens and other shareholders with a 39.5% stake.

• Endeavor operates about 350,000 net acres in the Midland portion of the Permian.

The WSJ did a solid writeup on the sale as well

Congrats, king.

Strategic Biofuels and Sumitomo team up on SAF in Louisiana

• Strategic Biofuels and Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) have entered a Joint Development Agreement for the Louisiana Green Fuels (LGF) project, aiming to advance sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production.

• SCOA will lead a Japanese-based investment consortium to fund the LGF project, targeting a majority of the required development capital.

• The project’s focus shift from Renewable Diesel to SAF production aligns with SCOA’s commitment, including a 20-year offtake agreement for around 640 million gallons of renewable fuels.

• LGF plans to utilize approximately 1 million tons per year of forestry waste, alongside biomass-fired power generation producing 86 megawatts of power from 1 million tons of sawmill waste annually.

• Geologic carbon sequestration of 1.36 million metric tons per year of CO2 is projected, equivalent to ~300,000 passenger cars.

• Recent milestones include Air Permit issuance, SLB partnership for carbon sequestration, and Louisiana primacy for Class VI permits.

Velocys goes private and raises $40 million

• Velocys, a sustainable aviation fuel technology (SAF) company, has completed a take-private transaction and received $40 million in growth capital from a consortium of investors.

• The funds will be utilized to expedite the deployment of their technology, enhance leadership, scale production, and expand team expertise.

• Velocys specializes in scalable, flexible solutions for SAF production using its patented catalyst and micro-channel reactor platform, compatible with various feedstocks.

• The company has expanded its reactor facility in Ohio to ensure a stable supply, capable of producing 12 reactors annually, with plans for further capacity expansion.

Chesapeake, Delfin and Gunvor sign long-term LNG liquefaction offtake agreement

• Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Delfin LNG LLC, and Gunvor Group Ltd sign long-term LNG liquefaction offtake agreement.

• Agreement involves Sales and Purchase Agreements (SPA) for long-term liquefaction offtake.

• Chesapeake to purchase approximately 0.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG from Delfin at Henry Hub price.

• Delivery to Gunvor on FOB basis with sales price linked to Japan Korea Marker (JKM) for 20 years.

• Deal solidifies Chesapeake’s commitment to being LNG ready and offers diversification and access to global LNG pricing.

• Delfin emphasizes their unique liquefaction solution providing commercial flexibility with reduced environmental footprint.

• Gunvor highlights the deal as part of a larger arrangement, expanding cooperation with Delfin and providing reliable logistics services.

   

Dow closes $1.25 billion in green bonds for net-zero chemical plant

• Dow completes inaugural $1.25 billion green bond offering

• Bond offering to support Decarbonize & Grow and Transform the Waste strategies

• $600 million aggregate principal amount of 5.150% notes due 2034 and $650 million aggregate principal amount of 5.600% notes due 2054 issued

• Focus on Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta Path2Zero project

• Aim to build world’s first net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions ethylene and derivates complex

• Dow aims for carbon neutrality by 2050, with a 2030 target of reducing Scope 1 and 2 net annual carbon emissions by 5 million metric tons compared to 2020 baseline

• Camus Energy expands Series A past $25 million

• Two thirds of energy consumers unwilling to spend more time and money to be sustainable – EY research

• Latest Sunya Stories podcast episode with Chuck Yates

• Sunya Spotlight profile on Oxy’s STRATOS DAC project

• Past Thursday’s edition – Equinor doubles down on CCS

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.