Watch It Wednesday #29

Developed by Swiss startup Climeworks, the Orca Plant in Iceland is the worlds largest operational direct air capture and storage facility. It is capable removing around 4,000 tonnes of CO₂ every year (roughly the annual emissions of 790 cars).

Powered by Iceland’s abundant geothermal resources, the facility uses fans to pass ambient air through chemical filters that are impermeable to CO₂ molecules, trapping the CO₂. These filters are then closed off and heated to 100°C which in turn releases the CO₂ molecules so they can be “sucked out”. The CO₂ is then mixed with water and injected over 800 m below ground into porous volcanic rock, locking in the CO₂ long-term.

The Orca Plant is a small step enroute to more efficient, cost effective, and larger scale direct air capture and storage. An estimated 10 billion tonnes of CO₂ will need to be removed annually by mid century to stay below 2°C warming, but of course it is much better and far easier to not emit a tonne of CO₂ in the first place.