Black & Veatch’s IgniteX Carbon Dioxide Removal Accelerator Accepting Applications from Innovators

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., January 30, 2024 /3BL/ – At a time when nearly 200 countries recently pledged to ratchet up climate action before the end of this decade, global decarbonization solutions leader Black & Veatch is seeking applications to join its innovation-focused program to advance technologies that mitigate carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

Applicants will vie for the opportunity to participate in Black & Veatch’s IgniteX Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Accelerator, a largely virtual, 12-week program in which selected participants partner with Black & Veatch thought leaders and subject matter experts to co-develop, pilot and market their new technology. Along the way they receive mentorship, access to the company’s vast industry network, product testing opportunities, pitch development coaching and investor introductions. The program culminates with a showcase in which the entrepreneurs present their solutions and outline their value propositions and market opportunity.

Black & Veatch also is teaming up with RTI International – a leading independent research institute – to provide technical and commercialization support to IgniteX program participants.

Applications are due by Feb. 19 and may be submitted by visiting www.bv.com/ignite.

“With the challenges of climate change mounting, it’s increasingly paramount that we accelerate novel technologies that ultimately will help lower the global carbon footprint both at scale and affordability. This program seeks to do just that,” said Ryan Pletka, vice president of innovation for Black & Veatch. “Entrepreneurs and startups with outside-the-box, potentially transformational concepts often need a boost in developing and scaling their technologies, and we have deep expertise to kickstart the growing climate innovation ecosystem.”

Burnishing Black & Veatch’s decarbonization solutions status, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management last August named the company among 13 semifinalists to receive a total of $1.3 million for commercialization programs that support technologies that remove carbon from the atmosphere, including direct air capture (DAC).

The DAC Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize is among several competitions hosted by the DOE and funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support breakthrough DAC technologies. The prize sponsors incubator teams that provide creative, impactful solutions that support entrepreneurs and innovators in the DAC space.

This year’s IgniteX program is looking for innovations that span the critical elements across the entire end-to-end carbon dioxide removal lifecycle in:

• Direct air capture (DAC)
• Enhanced mineralization
• Soil carbon sequestration
• Biomass carbon removal and storage
• Ocean-based CDR
• Afforestation and Reforestation
• Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
• Other innovations that improve the cost-effectiveness, scalability, efficiency or co-benefits of CO2 capture from the environment through engineered processes

Editor’s Notes: 

• The IgniteX tech accelerator program provides funding of up to $35,000 in non-dilutive grants and in-kind services, plus potential equity investments from $50,000 - $100,000.
• This is the fifth year of the program, where Black & Veatch has partnered with more than 40 companies.
• Since its inception, the program has made more than $2 million in investments, grants and in-kind services.

About Black & Veatch 
Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.

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