- The carbon capture machines will begin operating in the world’s second-largest direct air capture (DAC) technology pilot next year.
- Waste heat from geothermal plants will regenerate the filters in Octavia Carbon’s DAC machines and cover 85% of their energy requirements.
Two startups, Octavia Carbon and Cella Mineral Storage, are assembling a set of machines to suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. With this process, CO2 will be mineralised and stored forever deep below the Earth’s surface. The project, called Project Hummingbird, will remove ten metric tons of CO2 annually. One hundred carbon capture machines will begin operating next year in the world’s second-largest direct air capture (DAC) technology pilot.
Octavia Carbon is building the DAC machines, while Cella Mineral Storage will inject mineralised carbon deep into the Rift Valley. Octavia Carbon’s chief executive, Martin Freimüller, said Kenya is the best place to build a direct air capture industry. He referred to the geological conditions along the Rift Valley, which lend themselves to storing mineralised carbon, along with its abundant supply of geothermal energy, as key reasons for launching his venture in Kenya.
Kenya is the world’s seventh-largest producer of geothermal energy. Geothermal and other renewable energy sources account for around 90 per cent of grid electricity in the country, meaning that DAC machines can operate without generating substantial emissions. In addition, geothermal energy provides heat as well as power. Freimüller says that waste heat from geothermal plants will regenerate the filters in Octavia Carbon’s DAC machines and cover 85 per cent of their energy requirements. This will help the company achieve uniquely low operational expenditure.