With the United Nations dubbing it as the defining issue of our time, a company in Squamish is trying to do their part in combating the global climate crisis and doing it in a novel way.
Making its home on Galbraith Avenue, near the Squamish Terminals, nestled along the northern fingers of the Howe Sound, Carbon Engineering looks to reverse global warming by removing one of its key ingredients from our atmosphere.
The removal process, called Direct Air Capture or DAC, uses massive fans that draw carbon dioxide from the air, which is pulled into a structure filled with corrugated sheets soaked in a chemical solution, and outputs a “stream of pure, compressed carbon dioxide.”
"We take that carbon dioxide-rich solution and we make these pellets," engineer Jenny McCahill told CTV News, "When treated at a high temperature they release a concentrated CO2 stream that is useable."
That material can be stored underground, or used to make a synthetic liquid fuel compatible with cars, ships and planes.
On Carbon Engineering’s website, the company says their DAC technology can be used to capture up to one-million tons of carbon dioxide per year depending on the scaling of their commercial facilities, an average of 250,000 cars’ annual emissions.
The company’s CEO Steve Oldham says there’s no more time to wait on a solution.
"If you believe there is a cost to climate change, there is a value in eliminating carbon now."
And while Carbon Engineering's technology isn't cheap, the goal is to make it commercially-viable.
The company will open a new plant in Texas in 2023.
"It’s likely to be a one megaton plant, (and) to give you a sense, that is the work of 40 million trees," Oldham said.
Carbon Engineering doesn't claim to be the only solution to climate change, rather saying it's determined to make a difference.
