Virgin Earth Challenge

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The Virgin Earth Challenge logo Virgin Earth Challenge logo.jpg
The Virgin Earth Challenge logo

The Virgin Earth Challenge was a competition offering a $25 million prize for whoever could demonstrate a commercially viable design which results in the permanent removal of greenhouse gases out of the Earth's atmosphere to contribute materially in global warming avoidance. [1] The prize was conceived by Richard Branson, and was announced in London on 9 February 2007 by Branson and former US Vice President Al Gore. [2]

Contents

Among more than 2600 applications, 11 finalists were announced on 2 November 2011. These were Biochar Solutions, from the US; Biorecro, Sweden; Black Carbon, Denmark; Carbon Engineering, Canada; Climeworks, Switzerland; COAWAY, US; Full Circle Biochar, US; Global Thermostat, US; Kilimanjaro Energy, US; Smartstones – Olivine Foundation, Netherlands, and The Savory Institute, US. [3]

The prize was never awarded. In 2019, Virgin took the prize website offline after having kept the 11 finalists in suspension for eight years. Al Gore had withdrawn from the jury earlier and commented that he was not part of the decision to discontinue the contest. [4]

The challenge

The Prize was to be awarded to "a commercially viable design which, achieves or appears capable of achieving the net removal of significant volumes of anthropogenic, atmospheric GHGs each year for at least 10 years", with significant volumes specified as "should be scalable to a significant size in order to meet the informal removal target of 1 billion tonnes of carbon-equivalent per year". [5] One tonne of carbon-equivalent (C) equals 3.67 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2). (Because of the relationship between their atomic weights, more precisely 44/12.) At present, fossil fuel emissions are around 6.3 gigatons of carbon. [6]

The prize would initially only be open for five years, with ideas assessed by a panel of judges including Richard Branson, Al Gore and Crispin Tickell (British diplomat), as well as scientists James E. Hansen, James Lovelock and Tim Flannery. The prize term was extended until 2019.

Around two hundred billion metric tons of carbon dioxide have accumulated in the atmosphere since the beginning of the industrial revolution, raising concentrations by more than 100 parts per million (ppm), from 280 to more than 380 ppm. The Virgin Earth Challenge was intended to inspire inventors to find ways of bringing that back down again to avoid the dangerous levels of global warming and sea level rise predicted by organisations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The Virgin Earth Challenge was similar in concept to other high technology competitions, such as the Orteig Prize for flying across the Atlantic, and the Ansari X Prize for spaceflight.

Competing technologies

The eleven finalists represent five competing technologies, some being represented by multiple finalists.

Biochar

Biochar, created by pyrolysis of biomass. Pyrolysis is a process where biomass is partially combusted in an oxygen-limited environment, which produces a char rich in carbon. This char can be distributed in soils as a soil amendment. [7]

Finalists competing with biochar designs:

BECCS (Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage)

Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) combines combustion or processing of biomass with geologic carbon capture and storage. BECCS is applied to industries such as electrical power, combined heat and power, pulp and paper, ethanol production, and biogas production.

There is 550 000 tonnes CO2/year in total BECCS capacity operating, divided between three different facilities (as of January 2012). [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

BECCS was pointed out in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a key technology for reaching low carbon dioxide atmospheric concentration targets. [13] The negative emissions that can be produced by BECCS has been estimated by the Royal Society to be equivalent to a 50 to 150 ppm decrease in global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations [14] and according to the International Energy Agency, the BLUE map climate change mitigation scenario calls for more than 2  giga tonnes of negative CO2 emissions per year with BECCS in 2050. [15] According to the OECD, "Achieving lower concentration targets (450 ppm) depends significantly on the use of BECCS". [16]

The sustainable technical potential for net negative emissions with BECCS has been estimated to 10  Gt of CO2 equivalent annually, with an economic potential of up to 3.5 Gt of CO2 equivalent annually at a cost of less than 50 €/tonne, and up to 3.9 Gt of CO2 equivalent annually at a cost of less than 100 €/tonne. [17]

Imperial College London, the UK Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, the Walker Institute for Climate System Research, and the Grantham Institute for Climate Change issued a joint report on carbon dioxide removal technologies as part of the AVOID: Avoiding dangerous climate change research program, stating that "Overall, of the technologies studied in this report, BECCS has the greatest maturity and there are no major practical barriers to its introduction into today’s energy system. The presence of a primary product will support early deployment." [18]

Finalist competing with BECCS design:

Direct air capture

Direct Air Capture is the process of capturing carbon dioxide directly from ambient air using solvents, filters or other methods. Subsequent to being captured, the carbon dioxide would be stored with carbon capture and storage technologies to keep it permanently out of the atmosphere. [14] [19]

Finalists competing with direct air capture designs:

Enhanced weathering

Enhanced weathering refers to a chemical approach to in-situ carbonation of silicates, where carbon dioxide is combined through natural weathering processes with mined minerals, such as olivine. The idea was based on the work of Dutch geoscientist Olaf Schuiling, whose ideas continue to be explored in the Netherlands, with promising results. [20] [21]

Finalist competing with enhanced weathering design:

Grassland restoration

Changed management methods for grasslands can significantly increase the uptake of carbon dioxide into the soil, creating a carbon sink. This and other land use change methods is not generally considered among negative emission technologies because of uncertain long-term sequestration permanence. [14]

Finalist competing with grassland restoration design:

[23] [24]

Discontinuance

The finalists who were announced in 2011 were kept in suspension for nine years, with many additional requests for information and data, as contestant Global Thermostat reported. [4] Another contestant, Carbon Engineering received notification in 2019 that they fulfilled all technical criteria and were selected for the final judgment. [4] Subsequently they were informed that the prize was "indefinitely put on hold". At the end of 2019, the prize was discontinued and the website taken offline. Carbon Engineering was informed by the Virgin Earth Challenge that "the market conditions necessary to support commercial and sustainable investment in the relevant carbon removal techniques were not foreseeable". Nevertheless, Carbon Engineering had raised 95 million dollar in investments by other parties, including Bill Gates. Contestant Graciela Chichilnisky of Global Thermostat, another direct air capture contestant, who had raised 60 million dollars in investments from other parties, expressed strong criticism in Dutch daily Volkskrant: "If you want to encourage scientific progress with a prize, it's not enough to open your mouth and say "25 million dollars." None of the 11 finalists received any funding or concrete help from Virgin during the 13 years of assessment. [4]

Similar competitions

Since the Virgin Earth Challenge, two new multimillion climate technology contests have been announced. In 2015, NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE was launched. It awards $20 million to "breakthrough technologies to convert CO2 emissions into usable products". The prize focuses on commercial exploitation of the carbon capture process. The prize will be awarded in the winter of 2021. [25] In 2021, Elon Musk of Tesla Inc announced a $100 million prize for development of the best technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global warming potential</span> Potential heat absorbed by a greenhouse gas

Global Warming Potential (GWP) is an index to measure of how much infrared thermal radiation a greenhouse gas would absorb over a given time frame after it has been added to the atmosphere. The GWP makes different greenhouse gases comparable with regards to their "effectiveness in causing radiative forcing". It is expressed as a multiple of the radiation that would be absorbed by the same mass of added carbon dioxide, which is taken as a reference gas. Therefore, the GWP is one for CO2. For other gases it depends on how strongly the gas absorbs infrared thermal radiation, how quickly the gas leaves the atmosphere, and the time frame being considered.

Climate engineering is a term used for both carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management, also called solar geoengineering, when applied at a planetary scale. However, they have very different geophysical characteristics which is why the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change no longer uses this overarching term. Carbon dioxide removal approaches are part of climate change mitigation. Solar geoengineering involves reflecting some sunlight back to space. All forms of geoengineering are not a standalone solution to climate change, but need to be coupled with other forms of climate change mitigation. Another approach to geoengineering is to increase the Earth's thermal emittance through passive radiative cooling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioenergy</span> Renewable energy made from biomass

Bioenergy is a type of renewable energy that is derived from plants and animal waste. The biomass that is used as input materials consists of recently living organisms, mainly plants. Thus, fossil fuels are not regarded as biomass under this definition. Types of biomass commonly used for bioenergy include wood, food crops such as corn, energy crops and waste from forests, yards, or farms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change mitigation</span> Actions to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to limit climate change

Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change. This action either reduces emissions of greenhouse gases or removes those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global temperature is mostly due to emissions from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. There are various ways that mitigation can reduce emissions. These are transitioning to sustainable energy sources, conserving energy, and increasing efficiency. It is possible to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This can be done by enlarging forests, restoring wetlands and using other natural and technical processes. The name for these processes is carbon sequestration. Governments and companies have pledged to reduce emissions to prevent dangerous climate change. These pledges are in line with international negotiations to limit warming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon capture and storage</span> Collecting carbon dioxide from industrial emissions

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a process in which a relatively pure stream of carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial sources is separated, treated and transported to a long-term storage location. For example, the burning of fossil fuels or biomass results in a stream of CO2 that could be captured and stored by CCS. Usually the CO2 is captured from large point sources, such as a chemical plant or a bioenergy plant, and then stored in a suitable geological formation. The aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus mitigate climate change. For example, CCS retrofits for existing power plants can be one of the ways to limit emissions from the electricity sector and meet the Paris Agreement goals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon sequestration</span> Storing carbon in a carbon pool (natural as well as enhanced or artificial processes)

Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. Carbon sequestration is a naturally occurring process but it can also be enhanced or achieved with technology, for example within carbon capture and storage projects. There are two main types of carbon sequestration: geologic and biologic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biochar</span> Lightweight black residue, made of carbon and ashes, after pyrolysis of biomass

Biochar is the lightweight black residue, made of carbon and ashes, remaining after the pyrolysis of biomass, and is a form of charcoal. Biochar is defined by the International Biochar Initiative as "the solid material obtained from the thermochemical conversion of biomass in an oxygen-limited environment". Biochar is a stable solid that is rich in pyrogenic carbon and can endure in soil for thousands of years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere</span> Atmospheric constituent and greenhouse gas

In Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide is a trace gas that plays an integral part in the greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, photosynthesis and oceanic carbon cycle. It is one of several greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of Earth. The current global average concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is 421 ppm as of May 2022 (0.04%). This is an increase of 50% since the start of the Industrial Revolution, up from 280 ppm during the 10,000 years prior to the mid-18th century. The increase is due to human activity. Burning fossil fuels is the main cause of these increased CO2 concentrations and also the main cause of climate change. Other large sources of CO2 from human activities include cement production, deforestation, and biomass burning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia</span> Release of gases from Australia which contribute to global warming

Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia totalled 533 million tonnes CO2-equivalent based on greenhouse gas national inventory report data for 2019; representing per capita CO2e emissions of 21 tons, three times the global average. Coal was responsible for 30% of emissions. The national Greenhouse Gas Inventory estimates for the year to March 2021 were 494.2 million tonnes, which is 27.8 million tonnes, or 5.3%, lower than the previous year. It is 20.8% lower than in 2005. According to the government, the result reflects the decrease in transport emissions due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, reduced fugitive emissions, and reductions in emissions from electricity; however, there were increased greenhouse gas emissions from the land and agriculture sectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon dioxide removal</span> Removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide through human activity

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is a process in which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by deliberate human activities and durably stored in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products. This process is also known as carbon removal, greenhouse gas removal or negative emissions. CDR is more and more often integrated into climate policy, as an element of climate change mitigation strategies. Achieving net zero emissions will require first and foremost deep and sustained cuts in emissions, and then—in addition—the use of CDR. In the future, CDR may be able to counterbalance emissions that are technically difficult to eliminate, such as some agricultural and industrial emissions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenhouse gas</span> Gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation at thermal infrared wavelengths

Greenhouse gases are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. What distinguishes them from other gases is that they absorb the wavelengths of radiation that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. The Earth is warmed by sunlight, causing its surface to radiate heat, which is then mostly absorbed by greenhouse gases. Without greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the average temperature of Earth's surface would be about −18 °C (0 °F), rather than the present average of 15 °C (59 °F).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage</span>

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is the process of extracting bioenergy from biomass and capturing and storing the carbon, thereby removing it from the atmosphere. BECCS can theoretically be a "negative emissions technology" (NET), although its deployment at the scale considered by many governments and industries can "also pose major economic, technological, and social feasibility challenges; threaten food security and human rights; and risk overstepping multiple planetary boundaries, with potentially irreversible consequences". The carbon in the biomass comes from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) which is extracted from the atmosphere by the biomass when it grows. Energy ("bioenergy") is extracted in useful forms (electricity, heat, biofuels, etc.) as the biomass is utilized through combustion, fermentation, pyrolysis or other conversion methods.

Enhanced weathering, also termed ocean alkalinity enhancement when proposed for carbon credit systems, is a process that aims to accelerate the natural weathering by spreading finely ground silicate rock, such as basalt, onto surfaces which speeds up chemical reactions between rocks, water, and air. It also removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, permanently storing it in solid carbonate minerals or ocean alkalinity. The latter also slows ocean acidification.

Christopher W. Jones is an American chemical engineer and researcher on catalysis and carbon dioxide capture. In 2022 he is the John Brock III School Chair and Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and adjunct professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, Georgia. Previously he served as associate vice president for research at Georgia Tech (2013-2019), including a stint as interim executive vice-president for research in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate restoration</span>

Climate restoration is the climate change goal and associated actions to restore CO2 to levels humans have actually survived long-term, below 300 ppm. This would restore the Earth system generally to a safe state, for the well-being of future generations of humanity and nature. Actions include carbon dioxide removal from the Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, which, in combination with emissions reductions, would reduce the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and thereby reduce the global warming produced by the greenhouse effect of an excess of CO2 over its pre-industrial level. Actions also include restoring pre-industrial atmospheric methane levels by accelerating natural methane oxidation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon capture and utilization</span>

Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial processes and transporting it via pipelines to where one intends to use it in industrial processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direct air capture</span> Method of carbon capture from carbon dioxide in air

Direct air capture (DAC) is the use of chemical or physical processes to extract carbon dioxide directly from the ambient air. If the extracted CO2 is then sequestered in safe long-term storage, the overall process will achieve carbon dioxide removal and be a "negative emissions technology" (NET).

Climeworks AG is a Swiss company specializing in direct air capture (DAC) technology. The company filters CO2 directly from the ambient air through an adsorption-desorption process. At its first commercial direct air capture and storage plant, Orca, in Hellisheidi, Iceland, the air-captured CO2 is handed over to storage partner Carbfix, who injects it deep underground where it mineralizes and turns into stone. Climeworks’s machines run on renewable energy or energy-from-waste and re-emit less than 10% of the carbon dioxide they capture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Möllersten</span> Swedish researcher

Kenneth Karl Mikael Möllersten is a Swedish researcher. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering and an MSc in mechanical engineering, both from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden. Möllersten is a consultant and researcher at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, was previously affiliated as a researcher with Mälardalen University and is currently affiliated with KTH.

Biochar carbon removal (BCR) is a negative emissions technology. It involves the production of biochar through pyrolysis of residual biomass and the subsequent application of the biochar in soils or durable materials. The carbon dioxide sequestered by the plants used for the biochar production is therewith stored for several hundreds of years, which creates carbon sinks.

References

  1. ↑ "Virgin Earth Challenge" . Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  2. ↑ "Branson launches $25m climate bid". BBC News Online. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  3. ↑ "Virgin Earth Challenge announces leading organisations". Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "De grote klimaatprijs van Richard Branson die in lucht opging" [Richard Branson's great climate prize that went up in thin air] (in Dutch). De Volkskrant. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "Virgin Earth Challenge, Terms and Conditions clauses 1.2 and 3.1c". Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "US Department of Energy on greenhouse gases" . Retrieved 4 October 2007.
  7. ↑ "What is biochar?". Archived from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "Global Status of BECCS Projects 2010". Biorecro AB, Global CCS Institute. 2010. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Global Technology Roadmap for CCS in Industry Biomass-based industrial CO2 sources: biofuels production with CCS" (PDF). ECN. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "First U.S. large demonstration-scale injection of CO2 from a biofuel production facility begins" . Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "Ethanol plant to sequester CO2 emissions". Archived from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "Production Begins at Biggest Ethanol Plant in Kansas" . Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  13. ↑ Fischer, B.S., N. Nakicenovic, K. Alfsen, J. Corfee Morlot, F. de la Chesnaye, J.-Ch. Hourcade, K. Jiang, M. Kainuma, E. La Rovere, A. Matysek, A. Rana, K. Riahi, R. Richels, S. Rose, D. van Vuuren, R. Warren, (2007)"Issues related to mitigation in the long term context", In Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change [B. Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  14. 1 2 3 "Geoengineering the climate: science, governance and uncertainty". The Royal Society. 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  15. ↑ "IEA Technology Roadmap Carbon Capture and Storage 2009" (PDF). OECD/IEA. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  16. ↑ "OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050, Climate Change Chapter, pre-release version" (PDF). OECD. 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  17. ↑ "Potential for biomass and carbon dioxide capture and storage" (PDF). IEA-GHG. 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  18. ↑ "The Potential for the Deployment of Negative Emissions Technologies in the UK" (PDF). Grantham Institute for Climate Change, Imperial College. 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  19. ↑ House; et al. (14 September 2011). "Economic and energetic analysis of capturing CO2 from ambient air". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108 (51): 20428–20433. Bibcode:2011PNAS..10820428H. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1012253108 . PMC   3251141 . PMID   22143760.
  20. ↑ "Olivijn maakt zijn belofte waar als vastlegger van broeikasgas kooldioxide". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  21. ↑ R. D. Schuiling and P. Krijgsman: (2006), "Enhanced Weathering: An Effective and Cheap Tool to Sequester Co2", Climatic Change, Volume 74, Numbers 1-3, 349-354.
  22. ↑ "Virgin Earth Challenge | Virgin".
  23. ↑ Grazed and Confused?, Food Climate Research Network, 2017, p.64
  24. ↑ "New rebuttal to the myth 'Holistic Management can reverse Climate Change'".
  25. ↑ "Turning CO₂ into products" . Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  26. ↑ "Elon Musk to offer $100 million prize for 'best' carbon capture tech". Reuters. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
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