Chevron Corp. announced an investment in Baseload Capital AB, a Sweden-based private investment company focused on development and operation of low-temperature geothermal and heat power assets.
According to a separate release by Baseload on March 1, the company closed a $25 million funding round with the oil major’s venture capital arm, Chevron Technology Ventures, as a new strategic investor.
As part of the alliance, Chevron Technical Center and Baseload Capital also signed a letter of intent for a potential pilot project in California to deploy heat power, which is an affordable form of renewable energy that can be harnessed from either geothermal resources or waste heat, the company release said.
“Chevron’s investments in geothermal power reflect our ongoing focus on helping to advance the world’s transition to a lower-carbon future,” said Barbara Burger, Chevron’s vice president of innovation and president of technology ventures.
The Baseload investment follows last month’s announcement of funding for Eavor and expands Chevron’s capacity to gain insight into geothermal innovations such as low-temperature power generation and closed-loop geothermal technologies.
“We look forward to working with Baseload Capital and Eavor to expand geothermal resources in the U.S. and internationally,” Burgers added.
Baseload Capital currently operates in Japan, Taiwan, Iceland and the U.S. As Baseload develops in these regions and expands to new markets, Chevron and Baseload will look for commercial geothermal and heat power opportunities in additional Chevron operations, the company release said.
“In August, we announced that we were looking for a new strategic investor to help us accelerate deployment in our key markets,” said Baseload CEO Alexander Helling. “We couldn’t have asked for a better one.“
The Chevron investment round includes existing Baseload Capital investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Sweden-based investment group Gullspang Invest AB.
“Chevron complements our group of owners and adds expertise in drilling, engineering, exploration and more,” Helling continued. “These assets are expected to accelerate our ability to deploy heat power and strengthen our way of working.”
Chevron Technology Ventures identifies externally developed technology with the potential to enhance the way Chevron produces and delivers affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy now and into the future. Recently, Chevron Technology Ventures launched a new $300 million fund focused on innovations in industrial decarbonization, emerging mobility, energy decentralization and the growing circular carbon economy.
The investments in Baseload and Eavor are financed by Chevron Technology Ventures’ core venture fund which identifies companies with technology that can add efficiencies to Chevron’s core business in operational enhancement, digitalization and lower-carbon operations.
