Carbon capture system turns pollution into rock

The small size of the solar-powered devices make them easy to transport and install

Spotted: Australian renewable energy company Southern Green Gas recently introduced its solar-powered Direct Air Capture (DAC) system. Designed to take full advantage of Australia’s climate and environment, the devices use a nano-material to selectively filter carbon dioxide from the air. The country’s high number of long, sunny days and large tracts of non-arable land provide an uncommon opportunity for the set-up of thousands of fields of the DAC devices. 

The company set itself the goal of pushing the cost down to approximately €62 per tonne of captured carbon. The devices are negative emission as they are completely solar-powered while removing pollution from the air. Each one can remove up to two tonnes of pollution annually. 

Carbon removed from the atmosphere can be stored deep underground, in naturally occurring gaps in rock, or in empty oil and gas reservoirs. A third option is to mix the captured carbon dioxide with salts in order to create new rock.  

Reducing emissions remains a crucial aspect of cooling the Earth’s climate, and Southern Green Gas is partnering with insurance company Swiss Re to market Australia’s potential to lead the global push for carbon removal.  

Carbon capture is becoming more versatile and with increasingly usable byproducts, with Springwise spotting new projects ranging from the production of carbon-negative limestone to heat and biochar.  

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