Media Release: Australia’s former Chief Scientist invests in home-grown carbon capture pioneer Southern Green Gas

Southern Green Gas (SGG) is pleased to announce that Dr Alan Finkel AC has invested in the company and will provide counsel on policy and commercialisation of its technology.

SGG is rapidly progressing commercialisation of its direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. International agencies such as the United Nations IPCC, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast that billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide will need to be removed annually from the atmosphere, using a combination of nature-based removal such as reforestation, or technology-based removal such as SGG’s capture system.

The SGG capture system uses high surface area nano-material called metal organic frameworks (MOFs) as the capture medium. This world leading technology, which has been developed with assistance from The University of Sydney, received recognition as a finalist in the XPRIZE for Carbon Removals.

Dr Finkel, alongside business partner Daved Lambert, invested $1.5 million in SGG equity, while also pledging to provide ongoing policy and technical advice to the company.

Dr Finkel served as Australia’s Chief Scientist from 2016 to 2021, during which time he spearheaded the development of the National Hydrogen Strategy and the independent review into the future of the National Electricity Market.

He also served as Special Adviser to the Australian Government on Low Emissions Technology where he brokered the establishment of seven international partnerships to accelerate the development and deployment of low emissions technologies.

Managing Director and Founder of Southern Green Gas, Rohan Gillespie, said the endorsement and support from Dr Finkel is validation of five years of hard work and focus on this technology, which is vital for decarbonisation.

“We are excited to become a shareholder of SGG as we believe they have a technological edge in this very important decarbonisation sector. Their technology can be applied to the permanent storage of carbon dioxide or transformed into renewable fuels such as methanol or jet fuel,” Dr Finkel said.