Case Study 1: Strategic Partnership Between Marathon Petroleum Corporation, the Largest Hydrocarbon Refiner in the US, and Startup Blue Planet
– Marathon Petroleum Corporation Executed a Direct Investment into Blue Planet through the Advisory Support of Pegasus Tech Ventures –
Joint Development of an Integrated Carbon Capture & Utilization Facility
＜Overview＞
In 2024, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, the largest refiner and renewable fuels producer in the United States, entered into a strategic collaboration with Blue Planet Systems to assist in the deployment and development of their unique carbon utilization technology. The purpose of this initiative was to construct a demonstration facility alongside an MPC renewable diesel refinery, providing an ample source of CO2 and logistics for the movement of feedstocks and products.
Blue Planet Systems, headquartered in the Bay Area, permanently sequesters CO2 using geomimetic mineralization, and reacting the carbon stream with calcium waste to generate limestone aggregate. This aggregate can be immediately mixed with standard cement to produce carbon-negative concrete.
To expand Marathon’s emerging tech initiative, the company engaged Pegasus Tech Ventures to support the diligence and execution of early stage investments. With one area of focus being carbon capture, sequestration, and utilization, Blue Planet Systems was introduced to Marathon through the relationship with Pegasus.
＜Challenges and Solutions＞
Each year, over fifty Gigatons of CO2 are released across the globe, increasing the intensity of adverse weather events and unpredictable seasonality. Over a third of all emissions are contributed to heavy industry, and one of the largest global emitters are the concrete producers, generating over 5% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions annually. As new construction projects commence, such as data centers needing large volumes of concrete, companies are facing additional scrutiny for the emissions associated with these sites.
In response to growing concerns of environmental impact, several new companies have emerged providing the market with low-carbon alternatives to concrete that do not compromise on performance metrics or applicability of the technology. In addition, the utilization of CO2 in Blue Planet’s process from an adjacent emitter and providing the operator a secondary option rather than venting it into the atmosphere creates the opportunity for meaningful partnerships with other industrial entities.
This is the framework in which Marathon Petroleum and Blue Planet Systems engaged their partnership and investment. Marathon would act as the CO2 supplier from its renewable diesel facility, and Blue Planet would construct a commercial pilot alongside the Marathon plant to further demonstrate the technology and scale operations. Marathon’s expertise in gas management and handling, and general balance of plant and energy expenditures, gave Blue Planet a strong engineering partner to establish this demonstration of the technology. Once completed, the Blue Planet demonstration will generate large volumes of revenue for the renewable diesel facility, through state and federal tax credits, as an extremely low-carbon fuel.
Through this partnership, Marathon and Blue Planet have effectively demonstrated an economic pathway for industrial emitters to curb their greenhouse gas emissions and generate valuable products for the broader market.
＜References＞