Orca (carbon capture plant)

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The Orca carbon capture plant is a facility that uses direct air capture to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (The name, "Orca" comes from the Icelandic word, "orka" which means "energy". [1] It was constructed by Climeworks and is joint work with Carbfix, an academic-industrial partnership that has developed a novel approach to capture CO2. The plant uses dozens of large fans to pull in air and pass it through a filter. The filter is then released of the CO2 it contains through heat. The CO2 extracted is later mixed with water and pushed into the ground, using a technology from Carbfix.

The plant started sequestering carbon dioxide in 2021. It is said to have cost between $10–15 million to build. [2] It is located in Iceland and is the largest facility of its kind on earth. [3] [4] [5] It is located about 50 kilometers outside Reykjavík next to the Hellisheiði Power Station, which is run by Reykjavík Energy. [6] It was inaugurated on 8 September 2021 in presence of Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the Prime Minister of Iceland.

Carbon offsetting potential

Climeworks claims that the plant can capture 4000 tons of CO2 per year. [7] [8] This equates roughly to the emissions from about 870 cars. [9] It counts Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the reinsurance company Swiss Re as current customers. [10]

The thousands of tons of carbon dioxide being removed is owed to the nearly 20 direct air capture plants currently functioning in the world. As the world's climate climbs towards 2 degrees Celsius, more technology is needed desperately to sustain our climate, preventing it from reaching severe temperatures. [11]

References

  1. ↑ "Carbon capture and storage plant becomes operational in Iceland". UNESCO. September 20, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  2. ↑ "World's biggest machine capturing carbon from air turned on in Iceland". the Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  3. ↑ "World's biggest machine capturing carbon from air turned on in Iceland". The Guardian . 8 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "The world's biggest carbon-removal plant switches on". The Economist . 18 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  5. ↑ Birnbaum, Michael (8 September 2021). "The world's biggest plant to capture CO2 from the air just opened in Iceland" . Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  6. ↑ Brown, Chris (30 October 2021). "In Iceland, can a revolutionary new process actually help stop global warming?" . Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  7. ↑ "The next step towards a climate-positive world: Orca!". climeworks.com. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  8. ↑ "World's largest plant capturing carbon from air starts in Iceland". Reuters. 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  9. ↑ "World's biggest machine capturing carbon from air turned on in Iceland". the Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  10. ↑ Hook, Leslie (2021-09-08). "World's biggest 'direct air capture' plant starts pulling in CO2". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  11. ↑ Okonkwo, Eric; AlNouss, Ahmed; Shahbaz, Muhammad; Al-Ansari, Tareq (November 15, 2023). "Developing integrated direct air capture and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage systems: progress towards 2 °C and 1.5 °C climate goals". Energy Conversion and Management. 296– via Elsevier Science Direct.

64°02′46″N21°23′59″W / 64.04622°N 21.39973°W / 64.04622; -21.39973


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