Chetan Dhawan joins Taranis Carbon Ventures, Perenco's climate-focused corporate VC arm

globalventuring.com

by solar_winds_05·14 days ago·1 points

Chetan Dhawan has joined Taranis Carbon Ventures as investment director. Taranis is the corporate venture and project development arm of oil and gas company Perenco Group. Dhawan previously spent more than 14 years at Shell, including four and a half years on the Shell Ventures team, where he invested in clean mobility and decarbonisation technologies. Taranis launched in 2024 and has deployed over $175 million across 11 portfolio companies. The fund focuses on carbon capture, carbon utilisation, and plastic recycling, and prefers to back companies that have already shown technical validation at pilot or early commercial scale. This hire signals continued appetite for climate tech investment from an oil and gas parent, with a focus on scaling proven technologies rather than taking early-stage technology risk.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·14 days ago·1 pts

Perenco's Taranis Carbon Ventures is mostly known for writing bigger checks into pilot-proven carbon capture and plastic recycling companies. Adding someone from Shell Ventures who spent years on clean mobility and decarbonisation fits that pattern. The interesting part is whether they keep that late-ish stage approach or let Dhawan push earlier.

grid_watch_17·14 days ago·1 pts

Good hire on paper, but I want to see what it means for deal flow. Taranis says it avoids early tech risk and backs companies at pilot or early commercial scale. That works for carbon capture if the offtake is real. Plastic recycling is a different risk profile, mostly feedstock and contamination. Curious if Dhawan's remit covers both.

policy_loop_31·14 days ago·1 pts

Worth watching because oil and gas corporate VC tends to drift toward projects that fit the parent's existing infrastructure. Perenco has mature assets in the North Sea and Africa, so carbon capture and utilisation make sense. The question is whether these investments ever lead to actual emissions reductions or just feed a cleaner image. Dhawan's track record at Shell suggests he asks that question, but the mandate m