But that is not very much. Every year it can only take in about 36,000 tons of CO2.
Start-up company from Switzerland They have done it once more, Climeworks. The company has recently established the world’s largest carbon capture facility in Iceland, surpassing its previous record for the amount of carbon dioxide that it is able to extract from the atmosphere. The previous record-holding carbon capture plant owned by the firm, known as Orca, is capable of extracting approximately 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on an annual basis. However, according to The Washington Post, the new plant is capable of handling roughly ten times that amount.
It is known as Mammoth, and it is equipped with 72 industrial fans that have the capacity to remove 36,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually. As was the case with Orca, the carbon dioxide is not recycled. The substance is buried underground and subsequently encased in stone, which removes it from the environment in a manner that is irreversible (within reasonable bounds). The facility is situated on top of a volcano that is now dormant, which means that in the event that it ever ceases operations, it would be an excellent place for a James Bond villain to hide out.
We chose this location because of its close proximity to the Hellisheidi geothermal energy plant, which is responsible for providing electricity to the facility’s fans and heating chemical filters in order to extract carbon dioxide using water vapor. Once the extraction process is complete, the carbon dioxide is extracted from the steam, compressed, and then dissolved in water. Last but not least, it is injected into volcanic basalt at a depth of 2,300 feet deep. Crystals are formed as a result of this compound’s reaction with the magnesium, calcium, and iron present in the rock. These crystals then become solid reservoirs of carbon dioxide. This technology is quite cool to look at.
Nevertheless, it is not the panacea that will solve the problem of climate change. This is hardly even a blip. According to a report by CBS News, the creator of Climeworks, Jan Wurzbacher, stated that in order for the world to achieve “carbon neutrality” by the year 2050, “we should be removing something like six to sixteen billion tons of CO2 per year from the air.”
Herein lays the source of the issue. In spite of the fact that this facility, which is by far the most extensive of its kind, has the capacity to remove up to 36,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on an annual basis, it is only 0.0006 percent of what is required to achieve the minimum annual removal requirement, as noted by Wurzbacher. Of course, there are additional plants, but the sum of all of them together does not even come close to meeting the requirements necessary to pull us back from the verge of collapse.
In order to achieve this goal, Wurzbacher has made a persuasive appeal to other businesses to support the cause. According to him, Climeworks has set a target of surpassing millions of tons harvested year by the year 2030 and reaching a billion tons by the year 2050. In an interview with 60 Minutes, Carlos Haertel, the chief technological officer of the company, stated that it is feasible to expand the process on a worldwide scale; nevertheless, it is necessary to have political will to support the endeavor.
A recent commitment of $4 billion was made by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to facilitate the revitalization of the industry in the United States, and $1.2 billion was set aside for two large-scale projects. At the same time, the United States Department of Energy initiated a program known as Carbon Negative Shot with the intention of encouraging the development of carbon capture technology that is beneficial to the economic system.
Today, we're officially launching a new portfolio offering to expand our carbon removal service beyond direct air capture and fast-track the industry's scale-up. We're thrilled to finally reveal Climeworks Solutions! https://t.co/0CDAQLObEU pic.twitter.com/f8ojbF3ZLo
— Climeworks (@Climeworks) April 17, 2024
The technology of carbon capture that Climeworks has implemented is simply one of many different approaches and methods. Stacks of limestone blocks that act as sponges to absorb carbon dioxide are one example of these techniques. Another example is the use of enormous hot air balloons that freeze and trap the chemical compound. There is also the possibility of replanting forests, which is something that businesses such as Apple and Goldman Sachs have tried out in the past. Is there a better option? On a worldwide scale, each and every one of them deployed together. There is no other option. It’s not a joke that climate change is happening.