BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT, NOV 13
Sumitomo Corporation, a leading Fortune 500 global trading and business investment company, has announced the formation of a capital and business alliance with UK-based Protostar Group Limited (brand name "44.01"), a provider of carbon dioxide (CO2) mineralisation services, to jointly engage in the development and deployment of decarbonisation services.
44.01 is a start-up established in 2020 with operations in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. It is also funded by various leading climate technology investors globally. 44.01 is the only company in the world working on CO2 mineralisation into peridotite formations (a rock that makes up the Earth's interior). CO2 is mixed with water and injected into peridotite formations under certain conditions in order to support the chemical reaction which causes mineralisation. The company has world-renowned researchers in the field of CO2mineralisation, and has established the optimum injection conditions and methods for CO2mineralisation. CO2 mineralisation is attracting attention due to advantages such as durability and stability, as CO2 can be permanently fixed underground as a mineral.
44.01 provides CO2 mineralisation as a service to Direct Air Capture operators and CO2 emitting companies. In addition, 44.01 plans to offer a complete in-house CO2 capture-to-mineralisation turnkey solution. Having successfully completed a small-scale field demonstration, 44.01 will confirm the feasibility of future large-scale commercialisation through additional demonstrations and the implementation of individual projects currently under consideration.
In particular, suitable sites for CO2 mineralisation are widely distributed in the Middle East as well as in the USA, Europe and Japan, where peridotite has been confirmed to exist close to the surface. 44.01 aims to mineralise one billion tonnes of CO2 by 2040, starting in Oman and expanding worldwide.
“The Sumitomo Corporation Group places great importance on the Paris Agreement, and we seek to contribute more actively towards the achievement of the carbon neutrality targets for society, as set forth in the accords. In2019, Sumitomo Corporation declared the Group's Policies on Climate Change Issues, and we continue to review these policies in light of global circumstances surrounding climate change. The capital and business alliance with 44.01 is one of the initiatives in line with these policies,” Sumitomo said in a statement.
“Through this partnership, we will provide business development support, as well as technical support around drilling technology and sub-surface evaluation, making use of the knowledge and networks we have accumulated over many years from the tubular business and natural resource business. We will also create synergies with 44.01 in the various sectors in which we are involved, such as steelmaking, power generation, natural gas, aluminium smelting, hydrogen and ammonia, as well as jointly developing and deploying decarbonisation services. Under our corporate message 'Enriching lives and the world', we will contribute to solving the global social challenge of climate change through collaboration with 44.01,” it further added.
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