Carbon capture startup KC8 raises $10m from Woodside, Cemex
Summary
The news: Carbon capture startup KC8 Capture Technologies has raised $10 million in a funding round backed by Woodside Energy and Cemex Ventures.The numbers: Founded in 2021, Perth-based KC8s technology can capture up to 95% of carbon dioxide emissions from heavy industrial sources, such as cement, steel, power generation and chemical production, at a capital cost up to 50% lower than amine-based solutions and at an improved energy efficiency of up to 15%.In Australia, KC8 is working with Cement Australia to build commercial demonstration plant to capture 15 tons per day (TPD) of CO2, located in Gladstone, Queensland. In the US, KC8 is developing a commercial pilot demonstration plant at the US Department of Energys National Carbon Capture Center that will achieve a capture rate of 10 to 15 TPD of CO2 from natural gas combustion flue gas.KC8 will work with Mexico-headquartered Cemex to deploy its technology through a front-end engineering design (FEED) study at one of its leading cement plants with the aim to capture more than 100 TPD, an ambition that is 10 times greater than current project scopes.The context: Traditionally, the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) industry uses amine-based solvents on these hard-to-abate industries. KC8 have developed a proprietary non-toxic solvent thats derived from a naturally-occurring material. This allows KC8s technology to treat low pressure, high volumes exhaust gases at lower cost to help these industries meet their net zero targets.