Tencent Launches Global CarbonX Program 2.0 to Accelerate Climate Tech Innovation

BEIJING, Dec. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tencent today announced the launch of the CarbonX Program 2.0, the latest phase of its initiative to drive the next generation of climate technologies and essential capabilities needed for a net-zero world by 2050. After a successful first iteration focusing on China-based projects, CarbonX 2.0 is now recruiting promising innovations from around the world and supporting them with catalytic funding and resources.

In the race to limit global warming and achieve net-zero emissions, one major challenge stands out: 75 percent of the solutions needed for decarbonization rely on technologies that are not yet fully mature. Guided by Tencent's mission of Tech for Good, the CarbonX Program is dedicated to helping these technologies scale, enabling them to play a major role in helping businesses and society at large achieve the ambitious targets outlined in the Paris Agreement.

The program is soliciting proposals for and will invest tens of millions of dollars in supporting innovative, early-stage technologies in four key areas:

• Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR): Extracting historic emissions from the atmosphere, emphasizing technology-based solutions to ensure the permanence of the removal. Pilot projects for these efforts will be established in Kenya.
• Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES): Developing a pathway for scaling up the ratio of renewable energy in power grids. To support this, 100-kilowatt pilot projects will be established in the Maldives, designed to deliver more than six hours of energy storage.
• CCUS for the Steel Industry: Exploring how to decarbonize this vital yet hard-to-abate industry. Rather than revalidate mature technologies, pilot projects set in Serbia will advance next-generation point-source CCUS technologies.
• CarbonXmade (CCU): Integrating captured carbon into chemical production and consumer products through the CarbonXmade consortium. This will drive the development of innovative product prototypes to achieve a seamless value chain from carbon to chemicals to consumer product.

CarbonX 2.0 brings together an expanding network of partners across sectors:

• Industry partners include China Resources, Conch Cement, Great Carbon Valley, HBIS Group and SCG.
• Another two industry partners, Sasol and Sinopec Carbon Industry Technology, join the CarbonXmade consortium, together with consumer product partners such as HAY, McDonald's China, PepsiCo, Pop Mart International Group and Unilever.
• Investment partners include Africa Climate Ventures, CASSTAR, China Merchants Venture, Copec WIND Ventures, Happiness Capital, HongShan Capital Group, Lightspeed China Partners, and MPCi.
• The program is further strengthened by ecosystem partners such as African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Global CCS Institute, Impact Hub, Sustainable Markets Initiative and XPrize.

Davis Lin, Senior Vice President of Tencent, said: "The urgency of our climate challenge is undeniable, and addressing it requires bringing the right technologies to market faster to drive impactful change. Our CarbonX program is dedicated to identifying and nurturing these solutions, supporting the transition from the lab to real-world applications. With the second iteration, we'reaiming to foster an international ecosystem that accelerates progress toward net zero."

Professor Jerry Yan, Fellow of European Academy of Sciences and Arts and Co-chairman of the CarbonX Expert Committee, said: "Addressing climate change demands scaling solutions that are not bound by specific technologies but driven by their potential to make a global impact. We need to accelerate innovation by fostering cross-sector and cross-region collaboration, while catalyzing the deployment of every viable solution to ensure they evolve and scale in line with our climate goals."

The program's application period for proposals is now open and welcoming submissions through May 2025 from participants worldwide, including early-stage startups, established companies, and academic or research institutions. The selection process will occur in two phases.

1. The first phase (by September 2025): 10 to 15 teams per demonstration scenario will be shortlisted based on their potential to deliver significant impact.
   
   
2. The second phase (by February 2026): 1 to 3 winning teams per scenario will be chosen from each group.

Winning teams will receive grant funding and additional resources to develop and implement their projects. A distinguished panel of experts from academia, industry, and finance will evaluate all applicants, selecting the most promising teams based on innovation, potential impact, and feasibility of implementation.

CarbonX 2.0 was unveiled at the Sustainable Social Value Innovation Summit in Beijing, also known as the S Summit. This inaugural event brings together businesses, thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, and advocates to discuss how enterprises can accelerate the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals by building an innovative ecosystem and inspiring collective action.

For more information about the CarbonX 2.0, please visit CarbonX Program.