Swiss scientists are working hard on technology to extract CO2 from the air to combat climate change. Since they began their work on the technology they have already halved the cost to between US$ 400 and 600 a tonne, reported SRF this week.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), by the second half of this century humanity will need to extract more CO2 from the air than it is adding to avoid runaway climate change. If correct, it means we must learn how to extract and store a lot of CO2. A Swiss company named Climeworks is working hard to develop technology to achieve this.
An average American emits roughly 15 tonnes of CO2 a year. So at current prices, they would need to set aside US$ 6,000 to US$ 9,000 a year to get rid of the CO2 they produce. Few individuals or societies could afford this. However, if Climeworks co-CEO Jan Wurzbacher’s predictions prove correct this cost could fall to between US$ 1,500 and US$ 3,000 a year, an amount that feels much more affordable. An average Swiss resident emits around 12 tonnes a year, which would cost US$ 1,200 to US$ 2,400 to dispose of at these lower rates.
Unfortunately, we are not there yet. Climeworks recently set up a new test facility in Basel with units roughly the size of a shipping container. These machines suck in air and extract CO2 from it. The extracted CO2 is then stored underground. An underground storage facility in Iceland in rock mineralises the CO2. Other storage options include pumping CO2 into old oil and gas fields.
Climeworks is also involved in a project in the US state of Louisiana. This facility will be built next year and is expected to extract a million tons of CO2 from the air annually. This is equivalent to the emissions of around 65,000 average Americans. To reach carbon neutrality, the US would need around 5,000 such installations or around 100 per state. Switzerland might only need around 100 if it managed to cut current annual emissions by 10%. If Jan Wurzbacher and his team can get the cost down to US$ 100 – 200 a tonne by 2050 the total cost of removing all of the CO2 produced in Switzerland in a year might cost as little as 1-3% of Switzerland’s GDP. With a boost in productivity and wealth the percentage might drop lower.
More on this:
SRF article (in German)
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