‘First’ large-scale direct air capture plant for Iceland
Swiss firm Climeworks has commenced construction on what it claims is the world’s first large-scale direct air capture (DAC) and storage project, known as Orca.
Located in Iceland, the plant combines Climeworks’ DAC technology with underground carbon dioxide (CO2) storage.
Once it’s complete, Climeworks says that Orca will remove more than 4,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year. It’s being built close to the Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant, which means that the energy required to run the carbon capture equipment will be renewable.
The underground storage of CO2 will be performed by Carbfix, a firm that takes captured carbon and turns it into stone underground in a process known as ‘rapid underground mineralisation’. According to the Reykjavik-based firm, Iceland’s subterranean basaltic rock formations provide the ideal conditions for the mineralisation process.
The construction of Orca will take place in two phases. The first – which includes the infrastructure and foundations for Climeworks’ CO2 collectors, began in October 2020 and was expected to be complete by the end of the year. Phase two involves the installation of the plant and machinery in Iceland and is expected to be finalised by spring 2021.
‘The combination of the proprietary Carbfix and Climeworks technologies marks a turning point in climate action, allowing us to permanently capture CO2 already emitted to the atmosphere and rapidly turn into stone underground,’ says Edda Sif Pind Aradóttir, CEO of Carbfix. ‘Through continued up-scaling of these technologies a climate disaster can be avoided while at the same time establishing a new industrial pillar for the global economy.’
While there’s little doubt that carbon will have to be removed from the atmosphere to meet warming and emissions targets, some scientists have warned against relying too heavily on as-yet-unproven DAC solutions.
Photo: Carbonfix
