Parallel Carbon, Avnos And Heirloom Boost Sustainability Through Direct Air Capture Technologies!

The last few years have seen an increase in the interest from individuals, businesses and governments in creating clean and green energy. The aim is simple – reducing our carbon emissions to fight global warming and to build a healthier and sustainable future.

One method that’s gaining popularity in the last few years is Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology, which removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.

While DAC was theorized as a solution years ago, it didn’t have much support. However, it has gained traction over the last few years and is a relatively new practice. Meaning that there are a variety of innovative methods businesses use to achieve a similar outcome – sucking carbon out of the atmosphere.

Several companies have come up with novel ways to capture carbon dioxide, generating interest from investors and businesses alike.

So, what are they doing? Let’s explore!
 

What Is Parallel Carbon Doing?

 

• In an announcement dated January 8, 2024, Parallel Carbon revealed that they secured $3.6 million seed funding during COP28 (the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference AKA Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC).

• The funding round was led by Aramco Ventures and other key investors that included Counteract, Axon Partners, DNX Ventures, Voyagers, Rumbo Ventures and angel investor Andrew MacKay.

• Parallel’s groundbreaking method utilizes renewable energy to produce clean hydrogen while removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

• The system offers a cost-effective process that integrates water electrolysis and direct air capture (DAC) processes. The system operates with intermittent electricity, providing advantages in contrast to high-temperature direct air capture pathways.

• Ryan Anderson, CEO and Founder of Parallel Carbon, summed up what the system offers, saying, “By integrating low-cost production of zero-carbon hydrogen and air-captured carbon dioxide, we’re building a critical tool to ending the world’s reliance on fossil fuels and putting carbon back underground.”

• [Contd.] “Once deployed at scale, our platform will provide affordable carbon removal, reduce the cost of decarbonising grids, and become a scalable foundation for producing sustainable shipping and aviation fuels.” 

 

What Is Avnos Doing?

 

• Los Angeles-based Avnos Inc. comes with a multi-year strategic aggregate investment of over $80 million from investors like ConocoPhillips, JetBlue Ventures (of JetBlue) and Shell Ventures LLC (of Shell). 

• While many DAC companies utilize large amounts of water in their processes, Avnos brings a process that creates water instead of using it.

• Through the company’s novel “Hybrid Direct Air Capture (HDAC)”, Avnos can produce around 5 tons of water per ton of CO2 captured, which is less than what other methods utilize.

• As per Will Kain, CEO of Avnos, “We don’t consume any heat, which is a major differentiator and allows us to be more cost-effective, more resource-efficient and ultimately more scalable than other solutions in the space.”

• Avnos announced on November 6, 2023, that it had launched its first (and the world’s first) HDAC in Bakersfield, California.

• Ahead of this, Kain said, “Avnos is laser focused on delivering the most cost-effective, flexible, and scalable commercial Direct Air Capture technology in the world.”

• [Contd.] “Adding blue-chip strategic partners ... we will be able to remove more atmospheric carbon, faster, and at lower costs than we would have been able to on our own.”

 

What Is Heirloom Doing?

 

• Heirloom Carbon Technologies uses limestone to capture CO2 from the air and store it deep in concrete.

• After unveiling the US’s first commercial Direct Air Capture facility, the company plans to capture up to 1,000 metric tons of CO2 per year, which will be sent for centuries-long storage.

• Ahead of this, Heirloom received a $600m award from the Department of Energy (DoE) to build a facility in Louisiana, which would be capable of processing up to a million tons a year.

• According to Shashank Samala, CEO and Co-Founder of Heirloom, “This first commercial direct air capture facility is the closest thing on Earth that we have to a time machine, because it can turn back the clock on climate change by removing carbon dioxide that has already been emitted into our atmosphere.”

• [Contd.] “The capacity of Heirloom’s limestone-based technology to capture CO2 from the air has gone from 1 kilogram of CO2 to up to one million, or 1000 metric tons, in just over two years. We owe it to every climate vulnerable citizen to continue to deploy our technology at the urgent pace required to reach billion-ton scale and beyond in time to stop the worst of climate change.”

While the concept of capturing and storing carbon from the air was once not a widely accepted idea, at present it’s witnessing great interest from both private and public investors. Even the US government has committed to spending at least $3.7 billion to propel DAC and other such efforts across the country.

Should large businesses invest in such technologies to reduce their carbon footprint? Do you think more startups will be vying for funding soon in this emerging sector?

Let us know in the comments below!