Jump to content

Direct Air Capture

As reported by the International Energy Agency´s “Exploring Clean Energy Pathways: The Role of CO2 Storage 2019” removal of historic CO2 emissions from the atmosphere on an industrial scale is crucial to achieving the climate goals as outlined by the 2015 Paris Agreement. Carbfix’s mineral storage technology provides an efficient and economical way of permanently transforming captured previously emitted CO2 to stone, underground.

Since 2017, Carbfix has worked in collaboration with Climeworks, a Swiss clean-tech company specializing in direct air capture (DAC) technology. In this first collaboration, Climeworks developed a small DAC pilot plant (Arctic Fox) next to the Carbfix CO2 mineral storage operations at the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant as a part of the EU funded Carbfix2 project. The power plant supplied supplies renewable energy to the DAC process, whilst Carbfix received the captured CO2 and securely sequestered it underground.  provides a permanent and safe storage solution for the captured atmospheric CO2.

"Our CO₂ collectors selectively capture carbon dioxide in a two-step process. First, air is drawn into the collector with a fan. Carbon dioxide is captured on the surface of a highly selective filter material that sits inside the collectors. Second, after the filter material is full with carbon dioxide, the collector is closed. We increase the temperature to between 80 and 100 °C - this releases the carbon dioxide. Finally, we can collect this high-purity, high-concentration carbon dioxide." As Climeworks states on its webpage:

  • Air is drawn in through a fan located inside the collector. Once sucked in, it passes through a filter located inside the collector which traps the carbon dioxide particles.
  • When the filter is completely full of CO₂, the collector closes, and the temperature rises to about 100°C — about the same temperature it takes to boil water for a cup of tea!
  • This causes the filter to release the CO₂ so we can finally collect it.

Images for Climworks website

"Our CO₂ collectors selectively capture carbon dioxide in a two-step process. First, air is drawn into the collector with a fan. Carbon dioxide is captured on the surface of a highly selective filter material that sits inside the collectors. Second, after the filter material is full with carbon dioxide, the collector is closed. We increase the temperature to between 80 and 100 °C - this releases the carbon dioxide. Finally, we can collect this high-purity, high-concentration carbon dioxide." As Climeworks states on its webpage:

Upscaled atmospheric CO2 removal and storage

The Arctic Fox pilot plant demonstrated the viability of combining DAC and CO2 mineral storage for lowering CO2 levels in the atmosphere. In 2020, following successful pilot operations, Climeworks and Carbfix made a ground-breaking agreement to significantly scale up atmospheric CO2 removal and storage: project Orca. Orca is currently being installed operational within ON Power's Geothermal Park in Iceland and will commence operation in 2021. The Orca installation can capture 4, 000 tons of CO2 per year, all of which will be in is injected by Carbfix in nearby basaltic formations. and permanently turned into stone.

Project Orca!