The Carbon Rush

This Week’s Reason for Hope

Zapping Cow Dung to Trap Methane

Oslo-based N2 Applied is testing plasma technology to lock in methane and ammonia emissions

Manure moves through machine housed in a standard-sized shipping container

Nitrogen from the air and a blast from a 50 Kilowatt plasma torch is forced through the slurry 

Independent tests show their technology reduces methane emissions from slurry by 99% and ammonia emissions by 95%

Commercial model planned for release in 2022

Exact pricing is yet to be announced, but capital investment for a farm will be similar to that of a medium-sized tractor

Sources

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/01/europe/cow-dung-methane-climate-warming-intl/index.html

https://n2applied.com/

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Carbon capture / Carbon dioxide removal (CDR)

Why is it needed?

Even if emissions were halted tomorrow, there’s too much CO2 in atmosphere

• According to NASA, CO2 concentrations hit 416 PPM in Apr 2021
• 350 PPM often cited as not to exceed threshold
• 280 PPM pre-industrial revolution

IPCC has modeled hundreds of climate scenarios - nearly 90% of those with 66% or greater chance keeping warming below 2 degrees Celsius rely on some form of carbon dioxide removal

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What is it?

Direct air capture

• Removes CO2 from air using a liquid or solid filters that bind CO2
• CO2 is available to be stored or repurposed

Bio-energy carbon capture and storage

• Using existing biomass waste or growing crops that produce large biomass quickly
• Burning biomass and capturing CO2

Sources

Rightsizing carbon dioxide removal (science.org)

What is the ideal level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for human life? | MIT Climate Portal

Fact Sheet: Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) | American University, Washington, DC

How do engineered carbon capture methods compare?

Bio-energy carbon capture and storage (BECCS)

Cost

• ~$100 to $200 / ton of CO2
• Expensive when you consider you can buy natural carbon offsets like reforestation for $30 / ton of CO2

Potential - 0.5 – 5 billion tons of CO2 / year

Permanence – high

Concerns - land intensive

Benefits - produces energy and energy produced could provide baseload power

Direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS)

Cost ~$100 to $300 / ton of CO2

Potential – limitless (in theory)

Permanence – high

Concerns - requires energy, low carbon energy

Benefits

• Small footprint compared to BECSS or natural carbon removal
• Can be located near storage reducing need for CO2 transportation infrastructure
• Easy to track amount of carbon removed

Example storage / uses for CO2

Injected into basalt formations as salt water.  Over time reacts with rock creating carbonate formations

Biofuels for applications like aviation

Building materials

Potential Risks

Undermines mitigation efforts - need to maximize both mitigation and removal to avoid catastrophic climate impacts

Land use transformation - competition with food and other biodiversity

Sources

Unconventional Mitigation. Carbon Dioxide Removal as a New Approach in EU Climate Policy (swp-berlin.org)

carbon-dioxide-removal-pathways-and-policy-needs (c2es.org)

How much carbon dioxide removal is needed?

Assuming rapid emission reductions in parallel, global carbon removal will need to be around

• 10 billion tons CO2 / year by 2050
• 20 billion tons CO2 / year by 2100

According to Environmental Protection Agency, average U.S. car emits about 4.6 tons of CO2 / year

First commercial U.S. direct air capture plant under construction in TX

• Will have ability to capture 1 million tons of CO2 / year
• Or emissions from ~200,000 cars / year

It will take 10,000 of those plants to remove the amount of CO2 we need to by 2050

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Sources

Carbon Removal | World Resources Institute (wri.org)

CO2 emissions - Our World in Data

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle | US EPA

How do we make it happen?

Who should be responsible for carbon dioxide removal?

Largest historical CO2 emitters

• U.S. 25%
• E.U. 22%
• China 12.7%

 Progress being made

Infrastructure Investment Jobs act invests $12.1 billion in

• Carbon capture, utilization and storage infrastructure
• R&D
• Permitting provisions

Build Back Better bill

• Modifies 45Q tax credits
• Delivers fund fully refundable direct payment for qualifying projects
• $180 / ton for storage for carbon through direct air capture
• $85 / ton tax for storage of carbon from industrial / power generation capture

Together, two bills could lead to a 13-fold increase in carbon capture by mid 2030s

Sources

CO2 emissions - Our World in Data

Scaling Up Climate Ambition: Carbon Capture, Removal, and Storage Priorities in the 117th Congress – Clean Air Task Force (catf.us)

Build Back Better Act offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance carbon capture – Clean Air Task Force (catf.us)