Carbon Engineering expanding capacity of its commercial Direct Air Capture plan
by Cleantech Canada Staff
The expansion enables corporate customers to permanently remove carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere
SQUAMISH, B.C. – Canadian clean energy company, Carbon Engineering Ltd., is expanding the capacity of the design for its first commercial Direct Air Capture (DAC) plant, to enable corporate customers to permanently remove carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the atmosphere.
The plant is being expanded from a capacity of 500,000 tons, to an expected one million tons of CO2 removed from the atmosphere and permanently stored underground each year. The planned facility is being engineered in partnership with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, LLC (OLCV), a subsidiary of Occidental and a leader in safe CO2 management and injection.
This expansion will enable customers to permanently and safely remove atmospheric CO2 as part of their emissions management and reduction plans, providing a critical new tool for customers looking to achieve carbon neutrality in sectors that are difficult to decarbonize, noted the company.
“Over the last few years we have observed a growing consensus in the science and policy sectors that both aggressive emissions reductions and large-scale removal of CO2 from the atmosphere is essential,” said Steve Oldham, CEO of CE. “Corporations are publicly committing to reduce their environmental footprints, and many are finding that while some of their emissions can be directly cut or reduced from within their activities, others are far more challenging. For these hard-to-eliminate emissions, the ability to remove an equivalent quantity of CO2 directly from the atmosphere is a powerful new tool to include in their sustainability toolkits.”
The process measures the exact amount of carbon captured and permanently stored, making this a quantifiable solution for carbon dioxide removal, or “negative emissions.”
“We’re essentially providing a service, much like water treatment, sanitation, or waste disposal,” said Oldham. “We’re providing an air treatment service that removes the excess CO2 in the atmosphere.”
Construction for the plant is expected to begin in 2021, with the plant becoming operational within approximately two years.
