2023 proved to be another landmark year for clean energy and climate tech. And it was a productive year here at 8 Rivers, too! We saw continued company growth, major technology milestones, and dozens of opportunities for our first-class team to share our mission and vision with industry partners and decision-makers.
Let’s begin with the obvious – our branding looks a little different than it did this time last year! In March, 8 Rivers introduced an updated logo and visual identity designed to help us stand out as the future’s leading clean energy technology company.
Our new look and refined mission – delivering the climate and clean energy solutions necessary to improve life for all – were also rolled out just in time for our 15th anniversary in May. Bringing our team together to celebrate the occasion offered a fantastic opportunity to reflect on our achievements and reaffirm our commitment to delivering a net-zero world.
New Leadership
This fall, 8 Rivers welcomed Dharmesh Patel as interim CEO. Previously, Dharmesh served as VP of Financial Controls where he implemented many of the policies and procedures that have allowed 8 Rivers to have a sound foundation for growth. Throughout his career, Dharmesh has focused on building highly motivated, successful teams, and the 8 Rivers family is happy to have his leadership.
Another significant promotion belongs to Steve Milward, who ascended to the role of Chief Operating Officer. Over the last 3 years at 8 Rivers, Steve has been instrumental in taking our innovative technologies from concept to commercialization. In his prior role as SVP of Engineering & Operations, he successfully led our technology development and project deployments worldwide.
Speaking of our team, 8 Rivers welcomed 18 new members this year and had a very successful internship program with 8 summer interns who worked across various departments. We’re excited to support climate pioneers at all stages of their careers. We know that the diversity of perspectives and experiences we’re building with our team is instrumental to our innovative culture.
Advancing Technologies, Ideas, & Partnerships
2023 saw 8 Rivers take significant steps forward with two of our portfolio technologies: 8RH2 and Calcite.
In May, we announced 8RH2’s CO2 Convective Reformer (CCR), the next generation of our ultra-low-carbon hydrogen technology. Developed by Chief Inventor Rodney Allam MBE, the process captures >99% of CO2, providing world-leading efficiency in hydrogen production for use as a zero-emissions fuel. 8RH2’s CCR presents a game-changing opportunity for sectors such as heavy industry, agriculture, and energy, where hydrogen and ammonia play vital roles.
Click here for a brief explainer on the technology from Mr. Allam himself!
In August, Calcite, our direct air capture (DAC) platform, was announced as a winner of the U.S. Department of Energy’s DAC Hub Grant. Calcite will serve as an anchor technology for the Mobile County, Alabama-based Southeast DAC (SEDAC) Hub.
Calcite’s facility aims to remove 50,000 tonnes of atmospheric CO2 annually upon completion. The project will bring well-paying skilled jobs to the Gulf South region while permanently removing atmospheric CO2. 8 Rivers was thrilled to see Calcite recognized and is excited to advance the technology toward commercial scale.
August proved to be a busy month – 8 Rivers also announced an MOU with Chart Industries. We’re excited to combine our expertise to evaluate and identify opportunities where Chart’s technologies and systems can complement and bring added value to our portfolio and projects.
Throughout 2023, we were proud to continue working closely with investor and partner SK Group, who announced plans to invest $17.82 billion in eco-friendly initiatives by 2025. With their support, we are charting a course to accelerate the deployment of 8 Rivers technologies and bring about our shared vision.
Another milestone for our team, we published our first-ever Net Zero Solutions report over the summer. We’re incredibly proud of the final product, which offers an inclusive look at the state of decarbonization and our unique approach to diversified technology development. It takes a deep dive into four pillars of our climate tech portfolio: clean fuels, carbon removal, clean power, and clean industry.
Taking Our Mission to the Market
The 8 Rivers team collaborated with our energy partners and climate peers at industry events around the world this year.
This spring, we again partnered with the Superbowl of global energy events, CERAWeek, in Houston, Texas. Alongside industry leaders and government ministers, President and CDO Damian Beauchamp, COO Steve Milward, and SVP of Strategy Adam Goff all took the stage to discuss the pathways to scale our portfolio of carbon capture technologies.
A few months later, on stage at Innovation Zero in London, our Chief Inventor, Rodney Allam MBE, helped announce our ultra-low-carbon hydrogen production technology, 8RH2, and alongside Steve Milward, shared our plans to rapidly go from innovation to commercialization.
At our Innovation Zero booth, we also offered a first-of-a-kind mixed-reality experience called Climate Pioneers. The experience guided visitors through a series of actions to deploy decarbonization technologies across sectors to “Save London 2050.
This unique educational experience was designed to excite, educate, and engage attendees on how technologies to support clean fuels, clean power, clean industry, and carbon removal are essential to meeting our net zero goals. We even unveiled an online version of the Climate Pioneers experience so global innovators can join in saving London 2050!
In October, our team was in attendance at the Direct Air Capture Coalition Global DAC Conference, where John Kerry remarked on four critical pillars we must prioritize globally to stay within the IPCC’s global warming target of 1.5°C and our own Adam Goff delivered a lightning talk on our Calcite technology.
At Energy Asia in June & the Energy Intelligence Forum in October, President and Chief Development Officer Damian Beauchamp spoke about hydrogen’s role in a net-zero future where energy resources must be reliable, affordable, and clean.
Our 2023 calendar was pretty full – you may have also caught the 8 Rivers team at the Carbon Capture and Storage Association’s Conference in London, the ADIPEC Exhibition & Conference in Abu Dhabi, the World Petroleum Conference in Calgary, or BloombergNEF in New York City!
Onward and Upward
As we turn the page to 2024, 8 Rivers is focused on delivering solutions that will enable decarbonization at a commercial scale and working with partners, legislators, and communities to maximize the benefits of these efforts. This includes embarking on the first commercial deployment of our 8RH2 ultra-low-carbon hydrogen technology. We’re excited to share more on that project in the new year!
With federal funding now in hand, we’re also looking forward to working with other mission-driven partners and stakeholders on developing the first deployment of our Calcite direct air capture technology, paving the road to net zero.
Through all this, 8 Rivers will remain laser-focused on innovation and collaboration. Achieving global net zero goals and demonstrating affordable, viable technologies that tackle the most pressing decarbonization challenges can’t be done alone.
We’re proud of our progress this year and the new and existing partnerships we fostered. Reach out if you are ready to join us on this journey to a cleaner tomorrow!
