1PointFive, the carbon capture, utilisation and sequestration unit of US oil company Occidental, has secured funding of up to $500m from the US Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). 

The funding will be used to support 1PointFive’s South Texas DAC Hub and is said to be a key step towards commercial-scale DAC in the US. 

It will be disbursed in stages, with an initial $50m allocated to accelerate 1PointFive's existing projects at the South Texas DAC Hub.  

The funds will facilitate engineering, permitting, procurement of equipment and ongoing community engagement.  

1PointFive said the total potential funding for the hub could reach $650m, including the development of an expanded carbon network in the region. 

The South Texas DAC Hub, situated on King Ranch in Kleberg County, Texas, aims to remove 500,000t of CO₂ annually, with plans to increase this to more than 1mt per year.  

The site has the potential to scale up to 30mt of CO₂ removal annually and securely store up to three billion tonnes of CO₂ in saline formations. 

Occidental president and CEO Vicki Hollub said: “Large-scale direct air capture is one of the most important technologies that will help organisations and society achieve their net-zero goals.  

“This award demonstrates how the US Department of Energy is committed to realizing the full potential of DAC and its confidence in the South Texas DAC Hub to deliver CO₂ removal at a climate-relevant scale.” 

Occidental agreed in August 2023 to acquire Carbon Engineering, a carbon capture technology company, for approximately $1.1bn.  

Since 2019, Occidental and Carbon Engineering have partnered to deploy DAC technology.  

This acquisition enables 1PointFive to further develop DAC technology and accelerate its deployment on a global scale.