A New Carbon Removal Startup Is Powered by Sunlight and Seawater
Cutting energy use is a key carbon cleanup challenge. Two University of Washington professors think they’ve cracked it.
Killer whales shown breaching in southeast Alaska. An ocean startup has a unique plan to clean up carbon.
Photographer: VW Pics/Universal Images Group EditorialA Seattle startup aims to remove millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere with a process that avoids the astronomical energy demands of other carbon capture approaches. The technology? Sunlight and seawater.
The company, Banyu Carbon, says it has developed an ocean carbon dioxide removal (CDR) system that relies on a synthetic molecule that, when exposed to light, changes shape and becomes acidic. When it interacts with seawater, the resulting process scrubs CO2. Though the company is currently working at the gram scale, its technology holds the promise of a low-cost way to limit global warming.