Airhive and Australian Carbon Vault (ACV) have secured $7.2 million ($10 million AUD) in funding from the Government of Australia to develop the country’s first direct air capture and storage (DACCS) hub.
The funding is part of a broader governmental campaign for developing carbon removal solutions, under which Australia is allocating a total of $23.4 million ($32.6 million AUD) in awards.
For Airhive and ACV, this governmental support will go towards a project that will leverage DAC technology to capture atmospheric CO2 which will then be stored in onshore geological storage.
As part of this collaboration, Airhive will be in charge of DAC system development, leveraging experience gained from its deployments in Canada and the UK. For the London-based company, this news comes two months after its acquisition of DAC developer Carbyon.
ACV, on the other hand, will handle the CO2 storage operations through its multi-tenant hub designed to take CO2 from a range of different emitters and carbon capture projects beyond this deal.
Airhive and ACV will rely on an ambitious new CCS hub
Located in South Australia, ACV’s integrated capture and storage site will be called the Carina CCS Hub. The site represents Australia’s first multi-use CCS hub, and the project is set to enter its first phase with Airhive’s DAC technology.
Commenting on this initiative upon announcing the award, Australia’s Department of Climate, Energy, Environment and Water called the Carina CCS Hub a “scalable multi-user hub for future carbon removal projects”.
Through the latest grant provided from the Carbon Capture Technologies Program (CCTP), Australia has demonstrated its strongest sign to date of its commitment to carbon removal as part of its economic and climate policies.
Relevant: Airhive Launches One Of The World’s Lowest-Cost DAC Technologies
The funding announcement highlights that ACV was awarded one of two grants totalling A$10 million, anchored by Airhive’s technology.
Governmental grant funding will cover a broader range of carbon removal and storage solutions, including several innovations that are suitable for integration within current Australian industries.
Other announced government grant recipients include Carbonought, Karbonix Technologies, MCi Carbon, and Electralith.
Read more: Airhive Acquires Carbyon to Forge European Direct Air Capture Powerhouse
