in Iceland, a factory that captures CO2 in the air

It’s called Orca, and it’s an industrial gem. This factory in Iceland is able to capture CO2 directly from the air. It works through a complex chemical process because carbon dioxide (CO2) is very diluted in the atmosphere. The CO2 is separated, compressed and then mixed with water to be injected deep into the rock. The energy for these operations comes from a nearby geothermal plant.

In Iceland, the abundance of basaltic rocks favors storage. “We inject the CO2 into the volcanic rock which is very porous”, says Thomas Ratouis, reservoir engineer. “After two years, it turns into white rock which fills small holes” in the rock. This process should make it possible to trap 4,000 tonnes of C02 per year. For Tryggvi Felixson, tourist guide and conservationist, this project is not “the panacea” to fight against climate change. “This process is very expensive and requires a lot of energy and water, it is not the solution”, he criticizes. The company responsible for this pilot project plans to build a factory ten times the size in a few years.