Tuesday, February 9, 2021

C-Zero Scores $11.5M For Decarbonization Technology

Santa Barbara-based C-Zero, a startup developing natural gas decarbonization technology--based on research out of UCSB--has raised $11.5M in a Series A funding, the company said this morning. According to the company, the Series A funding was co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Eni Next, and also included Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and AP Ventures. The company said the funding will go towards accelerating its first commercial-scale deployment of its technology. The company has developing technology which allows industrial natural gas producers to avoid producing CO2. The company said its technology is applicable to industrial users in applications like electrical generation, process heating and the production of commodity chemicals like hydrogen and ammonia. The startup is led by CEO Zach Jones. The company said its technology uses a process called thermocatalysis to split methane – the primary molecule in natural gas – into hydrogen and solid carbon in a process known as methane pyrolysis. The technology behind the company was initially developed in labs at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). The company said it is actively hiring in Santa Barbara.