Direct Air Capture tackles climate change challenge
18 March 2019
The
global response to
climate change demands that the world makes profound
changes to substantially reduce carbon
emissions. This will require an
arsenal of solutions, including dramatically increasing the share of
renewable electricity, boosting
energy efficiency, decarbonising
industrial processes through innovative new processes, and changing the
way we manage land and agriculture.
Great progress has been made on many of these fronts, but there is much
more to do.
In fact, the recent 1.5C report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change concluded that the removal of emissions already in the
atmosphere will be necessary to mitigate the worst effects of climate
change.
That’s why today we announced our commitment to invest US$6 million in
Carbon Engineering Ltd (CE) to progress the development of a
ground-breaking technology to reduce carbon emissions. Along with other
shareholders such as Bill Gates and Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, our
investment will accelerate the development of Direct Air Capture (DAC),
which removes CO2 from the atmosphere.
DAC is a technology that captures CO2 from atmospheric air, and
provides it in purified form for use or storage.
DAC is a technology that captures
CO2 from atmospheric air, and provides it in purified form for use or
storage. This process takes place in a closed loop where the only major
inputs are
water and energy, and the output is a stream of pure, compressed
CO2. This captured, compressed CO2 can be stored in suitable underground
environments, or used to create products, such as liquid fuels.
The story of CE’s development has been fascinating. Starting as an
academic study, CE has grown into the impressive demonstration facility
it now occupies in British Columbia, Canada today.
Now that CE demonstration facility has been built and tested, the
technology is ready to be scaled up in selected commercial markets. And
as the economics of DAC become more attractive, we expect to see more
plants developed over the coming years.
And as the economics of DAC become more attractive, we expect to
see more plants developed over the coming years.
In parallel efforts,
BHP also supports the development of natural
climate solutions that seek to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. This
includes mechanisms to reduce emissions from deforestation through
support for REDD+, the UN program for reducing emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation. In this initiative, trees remove
CO2 out of the air in a similar manner to CE’s DAC technology.
DAC technology has the potential to play a significant role in the
world’s response to climate change. By progressing the technology from
research through to demonstration and finally to commercial deployment,
BHP and others can give this technology the best chance to make that
contribution.
--ENDS--
Source: BHP Billiton - www.bhpbilliton.com
Contact: N/A
External Links:
BHP invests in emissions reduction company, Carbon Engineering: https://www.bhp.com/media-and-insights/news-releases/2019/03/bhp-invests-in-emissions-reduction-company-carbon-engineering
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