Construction of the world’s largest CO2 air purification factory has begun in Iceland. The installation of 80 fan units, called Mammoth, is assembled by Swiss startup Climeworks, one of the leaders in the field of Direct Air Capture (DAC). Mammoth is an order of magnitude more powerful than the similar Orca plant that has been operating since September 2021 (it was also the largest in the world). ‘Mammoth’ will be completed in two years and it will absorb 36,000 tons of CO2 per year. After the extraction of carbon dioxide, the water is saturated, and then the carbonated water is pumped underground, where it reacts with the basalt and hardens.
The whole idea is powered by a nearby geothermal power plant, and its carbon footprint is close to zero.
And then, of course, unpleasant questions begin.
How much does it cost?
Wildly expensive. Climeworks sells tickets: a ton of CO2 removed from the atmosphere costs more than $1,000. Image buyers are: Microsoft, Audi, Shopify… But really serious polluters, like Exxon, are willing to pay much less: $100 per ton. Ironically, Exxon and other oil companies extract hydrocarbons from the ground and burn them. And they assure that they are ready to pay companies like Climeworks, which promise to put all the CO2 back. After all, you can just not take it out, right???
How much does it help?
Mammoth will reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide by 0.0001%. Impressive, right? For a year, humanity emits 36 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That is, we need a million such plants (and a million power plants feeding them) just to make modern industry carbon-neutral.
And will it stop global warming?
Already not. To stabilize the climate, it is necessary to reduce the amount of CO2 particles from the current 420ppm to 350ppm.
And how much does it cost to clean the air?
At $100 per ton, cleaning up the atmosphere to stabilize the climate would cost $50 trillion, Electrek estimated. Interestingly enough, Climeworks’ detractors are lambasting the startup for allegedly easing the strain on global warming by promising a pain-free technological rescue. And, they say, the polluters will look at this and not make the necessary efforts now. We will remind, we are talking about 0.0001%.
And the price can’t be beat?
Purifying the air is difficult, and judging by the linear progress of Climeworks (each subsequent factory should be one order of magnitude more powerful), technological breakthroughs are not yet to be expected. But already obtained CO2 can be used in another way. For example, Italian startup Energy Dome recently launched the world’s first “carbon dioxide battery” for energy storage. By storing energy, the battery liquefies and cools CO2. And when the liquid turns back into gas, it spins the turbine and the installation generates electricity.
Maybe it’s not worth wasting time at all? According to the International Energy Agency, 18 startups are implementing DAC projects. You can’t call the topic a hit, but it seems to me that in the fight against global warming, you have to grasp at every straw. And drink soda as much as possible, depriving the atmosphere of CO2.
