(Credit: Pixabay)A new carbon dioxide removal project from Los Angeles-based Captura and Montreal-based Deep Sky is preparing to deploy in Quebec, Canada.
The project aims to create a climate solution that will remove carbon dioxide directly from the Ocean. Captura is a Direct Ocean Capture company that was founded at Caltech, while Deep Sky is a venture that commercializes carbon removal and storage solutions at scale. The two companies plan to deploy a pilot demonstration of the carbon capture and storage technology at facilities in Eastern Quebec in 2024.
The pilot will start off capturing 100 tons of carbon dioxide annually, with the aim to expand to between 100,000 and 1 million tons annually. The partnership will leverage Captura’s technology, with the aim to validate the technology for commercial deployment in Canada as Deep Sky has worked to develop the nation into a leader for carbon removal.
Captura completed several successful demonstrations in California as part of its scale-up program, including a one-ton-per-year system operating in Newport Beach since August 2022 and a 100-ton-per-year system that will begin ocean operations in the coming months.
“Eastern Canada provides an ideal location for deployment of Captura’s technology,” Steve Oldham, Captura CEO, said in a statement. “It has abundant renewable energy to power the system, a skilled workforce from the region’s oil and gas sector that has the expertise to build and operate DOC systems, and significant sequestration potential to permanently store the CO2. This is a tremendous opportunity for Canada to become a leader in Direct Ocean Capture infrastructure and we’re thrilled to be working with Deep Sky to bring our technology to the country.”
The system works by using renewable energy and electrodialysis technology to capture carbon directly from seawater as it passes through the plant. When the CO2-depleted seawater is returned to the ocean, it can once again absorb carbon from the air that was removed.
Deep Sky will act as project developer on the pilot, which is the company’s first pilot technology partnership. It is also Captura’s first international partnership to deploy its technology. Captura aims to license its technology to partners globally to enable rapid adoption globally.
Carbon removal in the ocean, when used alongside emissions reductions strategies, can align with net zero targets. Deployed in local inlets and bays, the technology can also potentially counteract ocean acidification, which negatively impacts marine ecosystems and ocean-dependent communities, according to Captura. The ocean absorbs about 30% of the world’s CO2 emissions.
“Climate change is the biggest existential threat to humankind,” Fred Lalonde, Deep Sky co-founder, said in a statement. “Wildfires, global droughts, and record hurricanes are just the beginning. We’re serious about building large-scale carbon removal infrastructure to save our planet, and Captura’s scalable, durable and measurable technology stood out as a clear choice for Deep Sky’s first official technology partnership.”
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