The multinational energy company Equinor and the direct ocean capture (DOC) company Captura have announced a partnership to develop industrial-scale solutions to remove carbon dioxide from the ocean. The two companies hope that this collaboration could potentially be a starting point for building large-scale commercial plants in key regions globally.
The testing will begin with a pilot plant installed at Equinor’s Kårstø natural gas processing facility in Norway, which will have the capacity to capture 1,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
Morten Halleraker, senior vice president and head of New Business and Investments at Equinor, stated: “We believe that Captura has a promising and sustainable technology that could play a pivotal role in removing CO2 from the carbon cycle.” He goes on to add that Equinor plans to collaborate with Captura and utilize its industrial capabilities to de-risk and scale the deployment of this innovative technology.
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As one of the world’s largest carbon sinks, the ocean naturally absorbs around 30% of the CO2 emissions from the atmosphere. Captura’s technology enhances this carbon removal process without disturbing the natural equilibrium, utilizing renewable energy and electrodialysis technology to capture CO2 directly from seawater. Once this process is done, the water has restored its capacity to capture more carbon dioxide.
Captura’s technology has been developed with scalability and cost-effectiveness in mind, providing a solution that is efficient and environmentally friendly. Unlike other carbon capture processes that may introduce harmful by-products into the environment, Captura’s method ensures that no new substances are added to the ocean.
The pilot project of Equinor and Captura will be constructed onshore, where it will process seawater and remove a measurable stream of CO2 from it. The captured carbon dioxide will then be utilized for the commissioning of the Northern Lights facilities, which is the world’s first open-source CO2 transport and storage infrastructure.
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