New plant absorbs CO2 99,000 times faster than Earth's oceans

Business Insider carries an article about an ocean-based CDR plant, which could remove carbon dioxide at a rate that's 99,000 times as fast as the oceans, Caliber.Az reprints the article.

The oceans are Earth's largest carbon sink, naturally absorbing about 25 per cent of the carbon dioxide emitted by humans.

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) companies, such as Equatic, aim to leverage this natural process to absorb even more CO2.

"We amplify what the ocean already does," said Edward Sanders, COO of Equatic, to Business Insider.

On June 18, Equatic announced it had begun engineering designs for the world's first commercial-scale, ocean-based CDR plant. According to Sanders, this plant could remove carbon dioxide at a rate 99,000 times faster than the oceans.

Equatic is among approximately twelve marine carbon dioxide removal (CDR) companies that have emerged in recent years, aiming to enhance the ocean's natural ability to absorb more CO2. According to a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, marine CDR technologies could potentially remove billions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.

The technology is still early in development, and the potential environmental impacts, particularly on a large scale, remain uncertain. However, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is seen as essential in addressing climate change. Simply reducing greenhouse gas emissions is no longer sufficient to limit global warming to 1.5°C to 2°C by the end of the century, as outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Equatic employs seawater electrolysis as its method to capture CO2 from the air. This process involves passing an electric current through seawater, which splits it into hydrogen, oxygen, and two distinct fluids: an acid and a base.

Sanders explained that their process stores carbon, originally dissolved in water, as a solid akin to seashell material. It also generates an alkaline slurry that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through a cooling tower.

In addition, the hydrogen can be converted into clean hydrogen fuel, which Equatic can either use to power its carbon dioxide removal (CDR) plants or sell. Companies such as Boeing and payment service provider Stripe have entered into agreements with Equatic for its hydrogen.