“Let’s reverse climate change” – that’s right, not only slow it down but reverse it. This is the purpose of Climeworks in Switzerland, who specialise in Direct Air Capture (DAC).

What is DAC? Simply, it is sucking carbon out of the atmosphere and either storing it underground or using it for things like carbonated drinks or synthetic fuels.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) recognises that DAC will play a role in meeting our climate goals and California recently released a study showing that they would require 17Mt of CO2 direct air capture per year to reach net-zero.

On Tuesday, I attended the 2020 Direct Air Capture Summit and, although virtual – I loved it! I got the chance to hear from industry leaders including Climeworks, Carbon Engineering Ltd., Global Thermostat, Svante and Carbfix.

Some insights for you:

1. DAC will be important for difficult to abate industries like aviation, cement production and agriculture.

2. Much larger scale is required! The largest plant is expected to start up in 2023 and will be capable of capturing 1MtCO2/year. We need bigger…

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What are your thoughts? Can we reverse climate change by hoovering up our past? 👇
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Thanks Jan Wurzbacher and C.Gebald