The Mammoth: Carbon Capture Quadrupled

Iceland, a country renowned for its abundant use of geothermal energy, has taken a monumental step towards sustainable energy. A new Climeworks power plant named the Mammoth is capable of direct air capture at never-before-seen scales. Globally, carbon capture facilities could remove 10,000 tonnes yearly, but Climeworks has almost quadrupled these rates at 36,000 tonnes of carbon. The company aims to capture 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030. What’s more, it’s powered by geothermal energy. 

The Mammoth has 72 enormous fans that blow outside air past a highly selective filter that absorbs carbon dioxide. After being heated to 100 degrees Celsius, the CO2 is combined with water and stored deep underground where it can be kept permanently. This CO2 can also be stored in rock, opening up opportunities for potential use in construction. This would be safe because direct carbon capture rock is non-combustible. 

Currently, another power plant, Stratos, is under construction in Texas and claims a different use to capture carbon. They plan to push carbon into wells to force out remnants of oil. This would defeat the purpose of carbon capture technology, feeding the prolonged usage of fossil fuels. 

Regardless, the recent upscale of carbon capture is a green light in fighting the dangers of climate change. Over the next decades, reaching carbon emission goals appears tangible.