The start-up Graphyte has developed an innovative solution to capture and store CO2.
At the start of the year, think tanks NewClimate Institute and Carbon Market Watch pointed to a still significant number of large companies resorting to greenwashing. This practice consists of presenting oneself as ecologically responsible without actually adopting concrete measures. A convincing example is that of the airline American Airlines announcing that it is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050, while basing its entire strategy on sustainable fuels whose use remains hypothetical, and without even planning intermediate measures for 2030 or 2040. .
An economically viable process?
Obviously, the media pressure had tangible consequences, because the American company entered into a partnership with Graphyte, a start-up supported by Bill Gates, with the aim of capturing and storing several tons of carbon dioxide underground. While this technique is not considered economically viable, Graphyte has developed an innovative process, much more affordable than current methods. For comparison, its price is $100 per ton while DAC (Capture of carbon dioxide in the air) has a cost estimated between $750 and $1,000 per ton of CO2.
To achieve such a breakthrough, Graphyte has created a carbon removal solution based on the use of biomass, in this case wood residues and agricultural waste which emit CO2 during their decomposition. Called “carbon casting,” this process involves drying the plant material in order to eliminate all of the microbes responsible for the decomposition process. The material is then compressed and confined by an impermeable barrier, which the company presents as environmentally friendly, before being stored in underground sites.
A first agreement to treat 10,000 tonnes of CO2
It is important to emphasize that the agreement concluded with American Airlines only concerns 10,000 tonnes of CO2, while the company’s greenhouse gas emissions amounted to around 34.6 million tonnes in 2022, according to Statista data. Obviously, this is not a silver bullet and it is imperative that other methods be put in place to reduce this level of emissions. An observation that concerns the entire airline sector, and not just American Airlines.
Source : Graphite, The Verge, Statista
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