SUMMARY

As many as 135 facilities, each capturing 1mn mt of carbon dioxide, could be deployed globally. [Image: Carbon Engineering]

By Dale Lunan

Carbon Engineering (CE), a Canadian direct air capture (DAC) technology developer, and 1PointFive, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum’s Low Carbon Ventures business unit, advanced a plan June 7 they said could see the deployment of as many as 135 facilities around the world, each capable of capturing 1mn mt/yr of CO2 from the atmosphere.

The deployment approach standardises the design of plants to help deliver complete, operationally ready DAC facilities to local partners. Through this process, plant components and equipment will be modularized, mass manufactured and then assembled on-site using an established supply chain of vendors.

“We are committed to delivering large-scale DAC solutions to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement,” 1PointFive president Michael Avery said. “We believe this deployment approach and our partnership with CE will support rapid, global deployment of DAC facilities to meet the urgency of the climate challenge and growing customer demand for DAC-enabled net-zero solutions.”

Based on current policy initiatives and voluntary and compliance market solutions, 1PointFive is targeting 70 operational DAC facilities by 2035, while up to 135 could be deployed given appropriate global policy initiatives and demand in the voluntary carbon market, 1PointFive said.

“We see this new, franchise-like model as the most feasible, affordable and financeable path forward for CE’s DAC technology to make a meaningful impact on the huge climate challenge,” CE CEO Daniel Friedmann said. 

CE and 1PointFive continue to optimise the CE technology, and its first installation, in the Permian Basin in Texas, is expected to be operational by 2024.

“Advance product sales for this facility, including agreements with Airbus, Shopify and ThermoFisher, and offtake frameworks, like the agreement with SK Trading International, signal the increasing demand from the voluntary market for large-scale, DAC-enabled climate solutions,” 1PointFive said.