Cemvita Factory has announced that it has launched the Gold Hydrogen program, which it describes as a coalition of organizations seeking to support the scale of the clean energy resource.
Founded by Cemvita Factory and Chart Industries, Inc, the program’s other collaborators include EXP and the Center for Houston’s Future, which is a nonprofit organization. Through the program, member companies collaborate to generate gold hydrogen cleanly, efficiently, and at scale to meet rising global demand, according to Cemvita. The company outlined that participation in the group will be capped at ten members.
Cemvita describes gold hydrogen as an unparalleled resource that, until now, has been cost-prohibitive to extract and not commercially viable. The company notes, however, that this could change with new subsurface biomanufacturing techniques, spearheaded by the company.
Carbon neutral gold hydrogen is produced from depleted oil reservoirs that are ready for plug and abandonment and extends the life of wells that would otherwise be a “significant burden”, Cemvita’s website outlines. The resource is said to have the potential to revitalize and remediate thousands of depleted, abandoned oil and gas reservoirs around the U.S.
“Gold hydrogen presents a unique opportunity for innovative companies who would like to lead the energy transition, not follow,” Moji Karimi, the CEO of Cemvita Factory, said in a company statement.
“Especially the legacy oil and gas companies with existing assets and infrastructure, skilled workforces, and global footprints,” Karimi added in the statement.
Zach Broussard, the head of petroleum microbiology at Cemvita and Gold Hydrogen program manager, said, “reservoir microbiology has incredible potential for unlocking the promise of gold hydrogen in a clean, efficient way”.
“Through this program, we are looking forward to collaborating with companies who value true disruptive innovation and are committed to pioneering the clean energy transition, not just talking about it,” Broussard added.
Jill Evanko, the CEO of Chart Industries, said, “we continue to believe that innovation and collaboration are critical to the future of hydrogen and the accomplishment of private and public carbon emission reduction goals”.
“Cemvita has a unique approach to this, and we are pleased to partner with another application that is likely to utilize Chart hydrogen and cryogenic equipment,” Evanko added.
EXP’s business development director of energy services, L.J. Guillotte, said, “the need for innovative energy solutions is paramount as the world continues to shift towards green energy”.
“To help clients achieve their goals of outcome-focused, safe, and achievable energy solutions, we joined Cemvita and partners on this important initiative,” Guillotte added.
Brett Perlman, the CEO of the Center for Houston’s Future, said, “Cemvita Factory’s work on building an alliance to commercialize gold hydrogen and to transform heavy industries for a net-zero economy shows how Houston companies can lead in low-carbon energy innovation”.
“The center is creating a coalition of stakeholders, including Cemvita and its partners, committed to developing the Houston region as a clean hydrogen hub. Cemvita’s work illustrates how Houston’s deep energy industry expertise can drive this effort,” Perlman added.
Last month, Cemvita announced the opening of its Denver location. The office includes a team of scientists, engineers and innovators that will focus on the development of sustainable mining using microbial solutions, the company outlined in a statement posted on its website at the time.
In October last year, the company announced the final close of its series A round and the addition of several “prominent” new investors. The funding round marked the total raised for the company at just over $10 million, as of October 2021, Cemvita outlined in a company statement at the time.
Cemvita, which also has facilities in Texas and Colorado, was founded by the Karimi siblings Moji and Tara. The company’s mission to fight climate change with economical carbon negative solutions that net climate positive results, according to its site.
