In 2019, the world has undergone CO2 emissions of 36.8 billion metric tons from fossil fuel usage. Addressing this scenario, carbon storage companies come to light with the required infrastructure for safely storing captured CO2 underground. In this guide, we will learn about the top direct air capture companies in the world and their contributions.
Top Direct Air Capture Companies
The carbon emissions industry and energy sector need to drop by 6.6 Gt to reach 20.1 Gt by 2030 to match the Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS). To achieve this, direct air capture companies offer technologies to remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere, to offset the emissions produced by fossil fuels. Some leading carbon capture and sequestration companies are as follows:
| Companies | Unique Feature |
| Quest Carbon Capture & Storage (SHELL) | By 2022, it captured 7.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide |
| Carbfix | The CO2 transformed into stone is approximately 70,000 tons |
| Lanza Tech | With their 6 commercial plants, 370,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide have been avoided |
| Carbon Clean | Since 2009, 2,161,442 metric tonnes of CO2 have been captured. |
| NETPower | Their technology reduces land usage by 40% capturing 97% of carbon dioxide emissions from power generation. |
1. Carbfix
This Icelandic company has a unique method for storing carbon. Carbfix collects CO2 from factories and transports it to “The Coda Terminal” in Iceland. From there, the carbon dioxide is pumped into wells, where it’s mixed with water and injected underground into the basaltic rock formations transforming into solid carbonate minerals within two years.
Since the process began in 2014, approximately 70,000 tons of carbon dioxide have been injected and transformed into stone, with about 12,000 tons converted annually at the Hellisheidi geothermal plant(Hengil, Iceland) preventing its release into the atmosphere.
2. Carbon Free
Taking on the challenge of capturing 10% of the world’s industrial CO2, they have these two verticles. Established in 2016, SkyMine Texas, USA stands as the pioneer and largest industrial-scale carbon mineralization facility globally. They capture tons of carbon dioxide from cement flue gas and convert it into sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) which is sold in retail
SkyCycle represents CarbonFree‘s advanced, second-generation technology, offering a comprehensive CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) solution.
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3. Quest Carbon Capture & Storage (SHELL)
The public carbon capture company focuses on avoiding emissions by utilizing lower-carbon fuels and technologies. Shell is situated in Canada, and aims of net-zero emissions by 2050, and also to reduce absolute emissions by 50% by the year 2030.
The Quest project is one of its prestigious CSS initiatives globally, which employs post-combustion capture techniques.
For Sustainability Development Scenario (SDS), the accomplishments of the company are:
- Out of 17 Sustainable development goals, 13 were directly supported
- Has worked with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and Earthwatch.
- 7.7 million tonnes of CO2 has been captured successfully by Shell Canada.
4. Carbon Engineering
Commencing as a pilot project in 2015, joining forces with global deployment partner, 1PointFive, Carbon Engineering has unveiled plans to deploy 100 million tonnes of Direct Air Capture (DAC) capacity by 2035.
This company follows 2 technological approaches:
1. DAC with geologic storage involves capturing atmospheric CO2 and securely storing it underground.
2. AIR TO FUELSTM technology captures and concentrates CO2 from the atmosphere.
5. Aker Carbon Capture
Offering Carbon Capture as a service to other companies, Aker Carbon Capture captures of CO2 from waste flue gases from various industries such as oil refineries and cement plants.
- They pledge to minimize waste and advance the transition towards circularity.
- They are implementing frameworks to identify initiatives for reducing scope 1, 2, and 3 footprints.
- They actively participate in the UN Global Compact and hold membership in the Global CCS Institute.
6. Carbon Clean
This company is one of the top low-cost carbon technology providers to reduce carbon emissions. As a pioneer in cost-effective modular technology, Carbon Clean aims to achieve a carbon dioxide capture cost of $30 per tonne.
The company adopting the CycloneCC technology represents an innovative approach in CCUS. It combines the company’s advanced salt solvents with proven methodologies.
Today around 686 metric tonnes of CO2 ( as recorded on the official site) were captured. Since 2009, 2,161,442 metric tonnes have been captured.
7. LanzaTech
This Ireland biotech company aims to shape a post-pollution era where waste carbon becomes the foundation of all creation. LanzaTech’s technology drives this vision by fostering a circular carbon economy, converting waste carbon into eco-friendly fuels and chemicals. They specialize in developing and commercializing carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology and are one of the earliest publicly traded CC companies.
The company declares that more than 370,000 tonnes of CO2 have been avoided with 6 commercial plants currently in operation.
8. Global Thermostat
The company’s patented solid adsorption process utilizes highly efficient fans to draw air through proprietary contactors that selectively bind to CO2.
Global Thermostat is one of the largest commercial-scale direct air capture plants. Their basic technology includes conducting a capture process within stackable channels measuring just millimeters in size and separated using low temperature heat.
9. Climeworks
The direct air capture process implements Climeworks‘ DAC+S technology to deliver high-quality carbon removal solutions for your climate strategy.
Established in 2009, they pioneered the world’s first commercial DAC plant in Hinwil, Switzerland. Their vision is to capture 1% of global CO2 emissions by 2025.
10. Carbon America
This company provides comprehensive solutions for Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), including capture, transport, storage, construction, operation, and project closure operations. Their mission is to expand the deployment of carbon capture and storage, assisting major emitters in North America in reducing their carbon footprint.
As per Carbon America, its team of seasoned experts spans the entire CCS value chain, enabling projects like geology, reservoir projects, etc to progress from conception to operation up to 50% faster and more cost-effectively.
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11. NETPower
This establishment offers the most innovative approach to addressing the carbon dioxide problem. It involves combusting natural gas with pure oxygen in a combustor, resulting in the production of CO2 and water, then turboexpander is used for further process of generating electricity.
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, NET Power is dedicated to providing the “Energy Trifecta”: clean, reliable, and cost-effective energy, all without relying on coal or gas.
- The firm boasts an impressive capture rate of over 97% of carbon emissions from power generation.
- Compared to similar output natural gas plants, their technology requires 40% less land usage.
12. Svante
Utilizing environmentally friendly solid sorbent technology, Svante is involved in heavy-emitting and hard-to-decarbonize industries. It follows a commercially feasible method for capturing and eliminating carbon emissions, considering its benefits.
The company utilizes tailor-made nano-materials, solid adsorbents with exceptionally high storage capacity, designed to efficiently capture and release CO2 in less than 60 seconds. So the establishment requires a significantly smaller inventory of adsorbents compared to technologies employing liquid solvents.
13. Carbyon
The company employs a rapid swing process facilitated by a modular machine comprising functionalized activated carbon fibers.
Carbyon is a startup firm, founded in 2019, which is based in the Netherlands have the most impressive achievements at a budding stage. It won the Milestone Award in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition and stood among 15 recipients of the $1 million award. The company proudly says that it captured 1.6 trillion tons of CO2 to date.
14. CO2 Rail
This US-based carbon capture startup is on a mission to leverage existing railway infrastructure for the world’s first carbon-negative transportation initiative. CO2Rail is comprised of two systems:
1. Diesel Exhaust CCS captures carbon dioxide by installing DAC units on trains. The company converts excess heat energy from the train’s operations into electricity through its regenerative Dynamic Braking system.
2. Ambient Air utilizes a Direct Air Capture system that can be integrated into various configurations on a train which harnesses energy from a regenerative braking system to capture carbon from the ambient air.
Also, the technology and minimal initial investment expenses of DAC have enabled CO2Rail to reduce the cost of captured carbon dioxide to below $50 per ton.
15. Mission Zero Technologies
This direct capture company utilizes electrochemical separation to capture CO2 from the atmosphere, which consumes 3-4 times less energy than existing thermal regeneration methods. This approach leverages established, scaled, and mature technologies such as cooling towers and electrochemical water purification.
Mission Zero was established as a startup in June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic as a spin-out from Deep Science Ventures.
16. Removr
The establishment uses Zeolite-based technology in pilot Direct Air Capture facilities to remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere for permanent storage. It generates negative emissions that can be sold as durable carbon dioxide removal credits (CDR). These credits are sold to companies that are committed to net zero targets
Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Removr is dedicated to sustainability by avoiding the use of chemicals and minerals, they aim to construct the first megaton DAC plant in the United States by 2030.
17. RepAir
Founded in 2020, the company utilizes patented technology consisting of two identical electrodes – a cathode and an anode – in its process.
RepAir ongoing electrochemical process consumes 70% less energy than current direct air capture methods, eliminating the need for heat, which enhances cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Their net-negative solution boasts a carbon footprint below 5%, employs no precious metals, and is constructed using abundant and recycled materials.
18. Skytree
Based in Amsterdam, Skytree aims to capture 10 million tonnes of CO2 through customer applications by the year 2030.
Their system captures and concentrates carbon dioxide directly from the surrounding air, making it available for your expanding requirements. Moreover, by substantially diminishing the reliance on fossil fuels, they facilitate the transition of your operations toward carbon neutrality.
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Largest Operational CCS Project
ExxonMobil‘s Shute Creek is the largest operational Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) facility, which is situated in Wyoming, U.S., since 1986. Around 95% of captured carbon dioxide from this facility has been sold to oil companies for oil recovery. CO2 is injected into wells that are depleted to extract additional oil. However, the combustion of the recovered oil releases carbon back into the atmosphere.
Throughout its lifetime, facility executives have reported that it has captured approximately 120 million tonnes (MT) of carbon dioxide (CO2).
These top direct air capture and carbon storage companies offer hopeful approaches for controlling carbon emissions which is beneficial to the environment. We can support these innovative technologies for a more sustainable future. For more such interesting content, keep exploring our website.
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