A new carbon removal plant has opened in Iceland, set to capture around 36,000 tons of CO2 per year, making it the biggest of its kind in the world.
The plant, titled Mammoth, currently has 12 modular containers installed, and it aims to have 72 by the end of the year. This will capture 36,000 tons of CO2 per year.
Inside these containers, fans pull air from outside via filters and then capture the CO2. Once captured, Carbfix dissolves it in water and pumps that deep underground, turning it into stone.
The company behind the plant, Climeworks, believes carbon removal is necessary to meet climate goals.
Christoph Gebald, Climeworks’ CEO, explains, “The science is clear to have a chance at meeting the temperature targets outlined in the Paris Agreement, the world must remove several billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by 2050 at the latest…And while emission reductions remain the top priority, reaching net zero in 2050 and beyond is impossible without active carbon removal.”
“The sheer size of the challenge can’t be met by one single carbon removal solution but can only be done if we start scaling the most promising, scalable, and efficient solutions at once,” states Gebald.
Photo: Climeworks