The world’s countries may have pledged to cut its carbon pollution, but with global emissions reaching an all-time high last year, they’ve fallen far short.
Digging out of that hole is going to require removing carbon straight from the atmosphere. But it comes with a hefty price tag, mostly because of the energy required. Removing one metric ton of CO2 using direct air capture is expected to require around 2,000 kWh of energy when the technology is sorted and scaled up.
One startup called DACLab says it’s already doing it for less, though. “We have data that I can share with you at 1,500 kilowatt hours per [metric] ton,” said Aditya Bhandari, co-founder and CEO of DACLab, told TechCrunch.
DACLab, which has been operating stealthily for the last four years, emerged today with $3 million in seed funding, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. The round was led by early Discord investor Peter Relan with participation from Silver Lake co-founder Dave Roux, WovenEarth Ventures founder Jane Woodward, and others.
In most direct air capture schemes, air is blown over a solid material capable of absorbing carbon dioxide. As the material saturates, the carbon dioxide needs to be released so it can be drawn off and stored elsewhere. The process of releasing the CO2 tends to be energy intensive, though, frequently involving heat around 80°C to 120°C. (Liquid sorbents require even more heat.)
To minimize construction costs, many startups perform the capture and release steps in the same box. DACLab, on the other hand, separates the two, capturing in one place and releasing carbon dioxide in another. The heat is relatively low for a solid sorbent, around 70°C, Bhandari said.
The bifurcated setup is typically found at industrial sites, which have more concentrated exhaust streams. DACLab’s technology was repurposed from such industrial designs. (Another startup, Global Thermostat, which was recently sold for parts, also had used a split design.)
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DACLab’s technology comes from TU Wien in Austria, where a partnership with Shell had produced a point-source carbon capture unit that ran for nearly three years. “This is very unusual, when you compare it with a lot of these other director capture research groups,” Bhandari said, noting that it was the largest carbon capture facility in Austria at the time.
The startup took that technology and tweaked it for direct air capture duty. DACLab has built two units capable of capturing 100 metric tons per year, and it has plans to build versions capable of capturing 1,000 and 5,000 metric tons per year. The former will first be deployed in Washington state, while the latter will be installed in Kenya.
The company sells its 100-metric ton unit for under $500,000, Bhandari said. Eventually, DACLab hopes to supply units to oil and gas companies, carbon project developers, and companies making e-fuels for airplanes.
Ultimately, much of the cost of carbon capture will depend on how much energy it uses. DACLab has plans to reduce consumption further to less than 1,000 kWh per metric ton. If that happens, the company says it will be able to capture carbon dioxide for $250 per metric ton.
“We’re not going to be one of those director capture companies that promise you that we are going to reach $100 per [metric] ton today,” Bhandari said. “Hopefully we can reboot this much needed industry, because it is filled with a lot of, I would say, empty promises.”
Correction: Experts estimate DAC will require around 2,000 kWh of total energy (heat and electricity).
