Jump to content

26.01.2021

Orca – taking direct air capture and storage to the next level

Orca sets a high bar for the emerging carbon dioxide removal industry by providing accessible, fully measurable and permanent CO2 removal. 

The construction of Orca in the geothermal park in Hellisheidi Iceland is well underway. The plant is expected to be in operation in Spring 2021.

The commission of the plant will see carbon dioxide removal taken to the next level, combining Climeworks’ direct air capture technology with the Carbfix technology of turning CO2 into stone underground. The plant will thereby capture 4’000 tons of CO2 per year. Orca will demonstrate that Climeworks is able to upscale carbon dioxide removal capacity by a factor of 80 in 3-4 years. Climeworks will continue to optimize this rate, leading to several million tons of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere and permanently stored by the end of this decade.

The construction of Orca comprises two phases: phase one, including the infrastructure and foundation for the new technology generation, has been completed successfully. Phase two has now started: it involves the installation of the plant and the machinery. 

The digital emissions from this story are an estimated 0.2g to 1,0g CO₂ per pageview.