Orca (carbon capture plant)

The Orca carbon capture plant is a facility that uses direct air capture to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 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.[1] It is located in Iceland and is the largest facility of its kind on earth.[2][3][4] It is located about 50 kilometers outside Reykjavík next to the Hellisheiði Power Station, which is run by Reykjavík Energy.[5] 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.[6][7] This equates roughly to the emissions from about 870 cars.[8] It counts Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the reinsurance company Swiss Re as current customers.[9]

Infrastructure

References
  1. "World's biggest machine capturing carbon from air turned on in Iceland". the Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  2. "World's biggest machine capturing carbon from air turned on in Iceland". The Guardian. 8 September 2021.
  3. "The world's biggest carbon-removal plant switches on". The Economist. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  4. Birnbaum, Michael (8 September 2021). "The world's biggest plant to capture CO2 from the air just opened in Iceland". Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  5. Brown, Chris (30 October 2021). "In Iceland, can a revolutionary new process actually help stop global warming?". Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  6. "The next step towards a climate-positive world: Orca!". climeworks.com. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  7. "World's largest plant capturing carbon from air starts in Iceland". Reuters. 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  8. "World's biggest machine capturing carbon from air turned on in Iceland". the Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  9. Hook, Leslie (2021-09-08). "World's biggest 'direct air capture' plant starts pulling in CO2". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-12-26.


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