Zurich/Washington D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Climeworks for a project to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. Together with partners, the spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich is to help remove 1 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Zurich-based technology company Climeworks is participating in a drive to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. Together with other partners, the spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich(ETH) will filter more than 1 million metric tons of the climate-damaging greenhouse gas from the atmosphere and store it underground in the so-called Cypress project, according to a media release from the U.S. Department of Energy, based in Washington, D.C.
According to the report, the Cypress project is located in Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana. Battelle Research Institute, based in Columbus, Ohio, will be the prime contractor responsible for the site and the Direct Air Capture Hub program there. Another partner involved is the American company Heirloom from San Francisco.
Local carbon storage company Gulf Coast Sequestration(GCS) will also be contracted to sequester the captured CO2. GCS is reportedly at an advanced stage with respect to drilling permits from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Cypress project is part of a large-scale U.S. Department of Energy offensive to remove CO2 (carbon dioxide removal, CDR) by direct air capture (DAC). Another DAC hub will be established in Kleberg County in south Texas.
In total, the U.S. government plans to invest $1.2 billion in a nationwide network of large-scale CO2 capture facilities “to clean up the legacy of carbon pollution and complement rapid emissions reductions.” ce/ko
