Orca (carbon capture plant)

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The Orca carbon capture plant is a facility that uses direct air capture to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It was constructed by Climeworks and is joint work with Carbfix, an academic-industrial partnership that has developed a novel approach to capture CO2. The plant uses dozens of large fans to pull in air and pass it through a filter. The filter is then released of the CO2 it contains through heat. The CO2 extracted is later mixed with water and pushed into the ground, using a technology from Carbfix.

The plant started sequestering carbon dioxide in 2021. It is said to have cost between $10-15 million to build.[1] It is located in Iceland and is the largest facility of its kind on earth.[2][3][4] It is located about 50 kilometers outside Reykjavík next to the Hellisheiði Power Station, which is run by Reykjavík Energy.[5] It was inaugurated on 8 September 2021 in presence of Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the Prime Minister of Iceland.

Carbon offsetting potential[]

Climeworks claims that the plant can capture 4000 tons of CO2 per year.[6][7] This equates roughly to the emissions from about 870 cars.[8] It counts Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the reinsurance company Swiss Re as current customers.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ France-Presse, Agence (2021-09-09). "World's biggest machine capturing carbon from air turned on in Iceland". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  2. ^ "World's biggest machine capturing carbon from air turned on in Iceland". The Guardian. 8 September 2021.
  3. ^ "The world's biggest carbon-removal plant switches on". The Economist. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  4. ^ Birnbaum, Michael (8 September 2021). "The world's biggest plant to capture CO2 from the air just opened in Iceland". Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  5. ^ Brown, Chris (30 October 2021). "In Iceland, can a revolutionary new process actually help stop global warming?". Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  6. ^ "The next step towards a climate-positive world: Orca!". climeworks.com. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  7. ^ Reuters (2021-09-13). "World's largest plant capturing carbon from air starts in Iceland". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  8. ^ France-Presse, Agence (2021-09-09). "World's biggest machine capturing carbon from air turned on in Iceland". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  9. ^ Hook, Leslie (2021-09-08). "World's biggest 'direct air capture' plant starts pulling in CO2". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-12-26.


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