A gigantic facility that can suck carbon dioxide out of the air and store it underground has officially started operations in Iceland. It is the largest carbon dioxide removal facility in the world today.
The establishment of Orca, the name of the facility, is a major step in the field of technology to combat global warming. This facility was suggested by climate experts as a necessity to reduce greenhouse gases and meet Paris Agreement targets.
Orca, taken from the Icelandic word "orka" which means energy. The building was jointly built by Swiss company Climeworks and Icelandic company Carbfix, at a cost of USD 10 to USD 15 million.
Quoted from ZME Science, Sunday (12/9/2021) Orca will capture 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide sucked from the air every year. This figure is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions produced by about 870 cars.
Indeed, the absorption of 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide is relatively small to fight global warming. But at least, this Orca is a pilot project that is the first step. As it develops, Orca's carbon sequestration capacity will be rapidly increased.
The choice of Iceland as a place to build the Orca of course after going through various considerations. This small island nation has underground geology that is ideal for capturing carbon and a lot of geothermal energy.
"This is indeed an important step in the race towards 'zero greenhouse gas emissions' needed to manage the climate crisis. It may sound like science fiction, but we have another example in the history of extraordinary technological progress," Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said at the time. unlock the Orca facility.
The technology used by Orca is known as direct carbon capture. This is one of the few ways to capture CO2 from the atmosphere.
Meanwhile, critics argue that this method is still too expensive and could take decades to operate on a large scale. But at least, according to scientists, the opening of the Orca is a big first step.
Currently, there are 15 direct carbon dioxide capture plants operating worldwide, namely in the US, Europe and Canada. Cumulatively, these plants capture about 9,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
A new large-scale plant is also being developed in the US. The facility is planned to have the capacity to draw one million tons of CO2 per year from the air.
