(Yicai) Aug. 4 -- Carbonology founder Robin Ren, a former vice president at Tesla, has said the green technology startup will open its first research and development center in Lingang Special Area, a part of Shanghai’s Free Trade Zone that aims to become an innovation hub.

The Shanghai-based firm has signed a cooperation agreement with Lingang’s management committee, Ren announced at a press briefing on Aug. 1, noting that the area’s focus on high-end manufacturing and new energy aligns solidly with Carbonology’s long-term development goals.

Carbonology is developing the world’s first industrial project to produce sustainable aviation fuel using direct air carbon capture technology, Ren said. The firm aims to produce its first barrel of fuel by year’s end, launch a pilot plant with annual capacity of around 1,000 tons next year, and begin a 100,000-ton commercial-scale project in 2027, he added.

Standard carbon-capture methods collect carbon dioxide from industrial flue gas, which is important for lowering near-term emissions but cannot fully replace fossil fuels in the long run, Ren pointed out. Direct air capture, by contrast, can potentially supply a sustainable carbon source indefinitely, though its deployment is currently limited by high costs, he said.

Carbonology’s R&D center will benefit from Lingang’s ability to attract top chemical industry talent and its policy support for green energy firms, Ren said, adding that this will speed up the industrialization of the company’s air capture tech while lowering energy use and costs.

Set up last year, Carbonology has completed an angel financing round, with investments from private equity firms HongShan Capital Group, formerly known as Sequoia Capital China, and Yellow River Delta Industry Investment Fund Management.

Ren attended the University of Pennsylvania with Tesla’s Elon Musk. He was Tesla's vice president for the Asia Pacific and global VP and spearheaded the establishment of the US electric carmaker’s factory in Lingang. Ren left Tesla in 2020.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione