In Switzerland, Climeworks installed and turned on its second plant designed to filter carbon dioxide emissions directly out of the ambient air, though it is a two-year process to capture the CO2. The captured CO2 will be mineralized and stored in basalt bedrock about half a mile underground near a geothermal power facility in Iceland. The captured CO2 from Climeworks’ first plant in Switzerland is already being converted into fertilizer that is being used by a nearby greenhouse. Each system uses a chemical process to absorb CO2 and bind it to filter materials.
Christoph Gebald, CEO of Climeworks, told GreenBiz, “The potential of scaling up our technology in combination with CO2 storage is enormous. Not only in Iceland but also in other regions which have similar rock formations. Our plan is to offer carbon removal to individuals, corporates and other organizations as a means to reverse their non-avoidable carbon emissions.”