The Boulder-based startup LongPath Technologies, which detects emissions from oil and gas operations, raised $22 million to help prevent more methane leaks.
The Series A financing round was led by White Deer Energy, a Houston private equity firm that focuses on sustainability startups. Two public companies also joined the round: the energy-services company ProFrac (Nasdaq: ACDC) and Williams (NYSE: WMB), a provider of large-scale natural gas infrastructure.
Also participating was Buff Gold Ventures, a Boulder-based firm that focuses its investments on deep tech startups that originate at the University of Colorado. LongPath's business is based on Nobel Prize-winning laster technology developed by CU and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder.
The startup's tech can continuously monitor and quantify methane emissions in the oil and gas industry. Methane is one of the greenhouse gases that are responsible for global warming, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In 2020, methane accounted for about 11% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., according to the EPA. Oil and gas operators are the second-largest source of methane emissions in the United States behind the agriculture industry. Methane is emitted into the atmosphere during the production, processing, storage, transmission and distribution of natural gas and the production, refinement, transportation and storage of crude oil, the agency said.
LongPath aims to fix that. The startup can work with any given oil and gas company to monitor more than 20 different sites across 20 square miles simultaneously. The technology was designated as an approved method by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to help oil and gas companies comply with the state's air regulations. It also met the EPA's gold standard for continuous methane monitoring.
"There is a significant opportunity to reduce methane emissions across the global economy," Varun Babbili, managing director of White Deer Energy, said in a statement. "The process begins with accurately detecting and quantifying emissions in the first place. LongPath's technology is amongst the most accurate, cost-effective and scalable solutions in the market, demonstrated by its numerous deployments for oil and gas operators."
LongPath said the $22 million raise would help the startup to meet the "accelerating demand" from its customers and deploy its technology to new and existing customers.
The startup also plans to further develop its technology platform in order for it to be used by other industries known for releasing methane, including waste management and mining. Landfills account for 17% of all methane emissions in the U.S., while coal mining is responsible for 6%, according to the EPA.
"Our simple mission is to partner with our customers to deliver an effective and scalable solution to detect, quantify and mitigate emissions," LongPath CEO Ian Dickinson said in a statement. "Our investors share this goal, and the spirit of partnership to meet the moment."
