CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE GAINS MOMENTUM

A new $15mn plant that will take carbon dioxide from the air and permanently turn it into stone underground and mineralised for long-term storage could be a game changer in the drive to clean energy

Last month, it was announced that world’s first and largest climate-positive direct air capture and storage plant had begun operations in Iceland. Named ‘orca’, the plant was launched by Zurich-based carbon capture start-up company

34 climeworks.

The system safely removes CO2 from the air, mixes it with water, and then pumps it deep underground where it is trapped in stone through a natural mineralization process.

The newly inaugurated plant has the capacity of capturing 4000 tons of CO2 every year.

Located on a rural site east of reykjavik, and adjacent to hellisheiði geothermal power plant, Orca is composed of stacked collector units on concrete footings.

The $15mn Orca plant is the size of two