Following a recent government investment in technology that removes carbon from the atmosphere, big business is joining in as well.
Amazon revealed on Tuesday that it will purchase a quarter of a million metric tonnes of carbon removal from STRATOS, the first DAC plant from the carbon removal technology business 1PointFive, over the course of the next ten years, in order to support the world’s largest deployment of direct air capture (DAC) technology. The investment’s financial amount was kept a secret by Amazon.
The extracted carbon from the atmosphere will then be kept underground in saline aquifers, which are substantial rock formations full with salt water.
According to the EPA, the annual emissions from 55,633 gasoline-powered cars are equal to a quarter of a million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide.
As part of its Climate Pledge Fund, Amazon is also investing in CarbonCapture Inc., a climate technology company that is assisting in the commercialization of novel DAC materials for carbon absorption.
According to Kara Hurst, vice president of global sustainability at Amazon, “with these two new investments in direct air capture, we seek to target emissions we can’t otherwise eradicate at their source.” We’re also supporting the development of the technologies that will be necessary for the world to escape the worst effects of climate change, making them more widely accessible to other businesses and organisations.
Source (CNBC)