The race against climate change: innovative techniques for CO2 storage

By Laio

Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies extract CO₂ directly from the atmosphere and store it in deep geological formations. These technologies are under development worldwide, with an eye toward large-scale implementation. In the Netherlands, the Council of State approved the Porthos project today: a huge project for CO2 storage in the Port of Rotterdam, which is seen as crucial to achieving climate goals.

CO₂ capture and storage: how does it work?

CO₂ capture and storage, or CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage), is a technology used in fossil fuel power generation and industry. The technology works by capturing CO2 at its source, transporting it, and then storing it in deep geological formations. Capture can occur before or after combustion, and both methods have their advantages and disadvantages.

One such project is the Porthos project in Rotterdam. This project is seen as crucial to achieving climate goals. Shell and ExxonMobil want to build a pipeline under the port area to capture CO₂ and store it under the North Sea.

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Direct Air Capture: extracting CO₂ from the air

Another technology for CO₂ capture is Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology. Unlike CCS, which generally takes place at the source of emissions, DAC technologies can capture CO₂ directly from the atmosphere at any location. According to IEA figures, at least 130 DAC facilities are currently in various stages of development. If they all go ahead (even if they are only in the concept stage), DAC deployment would reach the level needed by 2030 under the NZE (Net Zero Emissions by 2050) scenario, or about 75 MtCO₂/year.

The Swiss company Climeworks is currently building its second DAC plant in Iceland, called Mammoth. The plant is designed with a capture capacity of 36,000 tons of CO₂ per year and is expected to be operational in two years. Climeworks’ technology uses modular CO₂ collectors that can be stacked to create plants of any size. Climeworks’ ultimate goal is to reach a gigaton of CO₂ capture capacity by 2050.

Climeworks is building a second direct air capture and storage facility in Iceland

Climeworks aims to reverse climate change by removing carbon dioxide from air. The air-captured carbon dioxide is either stored or upcycled.

CO₂ capture and re-use

In addition to CO₂ capture and storage, there is also increasing interest in reusing CO₂ as a feedstock in industries, also known as Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU). The captured CO₂ can be used, for example, to produce renewable fuels and materials.

However, there are also criticisms of CCS and CCU. Objections include long-term storage of waste, dependence on fossil industries, and concerns about safety and lock-in risks. Nonetheless, CCS and CCU could be an important part of a future energy system with net negative emissions.

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The way forward

While CO₂ capture and storage technologies are an important step in reducing climate change, there is still a long way to go. Technology has not yet been implemented at the scale needed to cover sectors such as the aviation and shipping industries. Further development and scale-up of these technologies will be essential to meet the ambitious climate goals.