Oslo-based Aqualung Carbon Capture said it has secured a $10 million equity investment from Tor Olav Troim-led Golar LNG and three other partners, as the firm looks to commercialize its membrane CO2 capture and separation technology.
The three other key strategic partners include Global Ship Lease, MKS Pamp, and Standard Lithium.
Aqualung said in a statement on Thursday that representatives from Golar LNG and Standard Lithium would also join the company’s board of directors.
Also, the tech company will utilize the funds to grow its team across Europe and the US, deliver its first commercial pilot with Standard Lithium and initiate commercialization projects with key industrial suppliers in order to achieve its objective of providing large scale commercial units before 2025.
According to Aqualung, the technology has achieved proof of concept at two cement installations and is embarking on the next step to industrialize its coating process and deliver a containerized commercial unit.
Aqualung will initiate this scale up in collaboration with Standard Lithium at a CO2 capture pilot plant in southern Arkansas, which will demonstrate the efficacy of the company’s technology on low CO2 concentration levels.
“This pilot will unlock a significant number of hard-to-abate emitters and also set us up to optimize our solution for higher CO2 concentration markets including cement, steel, waste management, refining & petrochemicals sectors,” it said.
The cost, weight, low complexity, and small footprint advantage has also garnered “strong interest” from the LNG/maritime sector as confirmed by the company’s strategic investors, Aqualung said.
“Golar and Aqualung share a strong foundation of technical expertise and support from NTNU, and together are ready to play a decisive role in decarbonizing the LNG supply chain,” Henrik Utvik, president and CTO of Aqualung, said in the statement.