Reducing Atmospheric CO2 Through Direct Air Capture
REVERSING THE CLOCK ON CLIMATE CHANGE
VISION
To commercialize innovative technology to address climate change through direct air capture of carbon dioxide (CO2)
Incubated at X, Alphabet's Moonshot Factory (formerly Google X), 280 Earth creates technology to deploy low-cost direct air capture (DAC) plants to extract CO2 from ambient air.
THE ORIGIN OF "280 EARTH"
Prior to industrialization, Earth’s atmosphere contained an estimated 280 parts per million (ppm) of CO2. Since the late 19th century, the CO2 concentration has increased to more than 420 ppm, resulting in significant environmental challenges.
THE PROCESS
Direct Air Capture is designed to capture CO2 from ambient air through multiple stages:
Air Intake
Using large fans, air is pulled into the DAC system.
Adsorption
CO2 in the air attaches to a "sorbent" - a proprietary chemical compound.
Desorption
The sorbent is then moved into a separate vacuum chamber and heated, separating the bonded CO2 from the sorbent. The CO2 can then be utilized in products or sequestered underground.
Storage and Usage
CO2 can be used in products or permanently stored underground.
DEVELOPMENT
We are under construction
280 Earth’s 5,500-metric tons CO2 per annum (tpa) commercial demonstration facility is under construction. The first phase of operation will begin in the first half of 2024 with plans to scale up additional sites to millions of tons of CO2 captured annually by 2028.