280 Earth, a Company That Removes CO2 From the Air, Announces First Direct Air Capture Plant in Oregon; Closes 50M Series B Funding Round
May 20 2024 - 12:00PM
Business Wire
280 Earth, Inc. today announced that it has completed
construction and started operating a direct air capture (“DAC”)
facility to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the
atmosphere, mitigating climate change. The captured CO2 can be
permanently sequestered underground or used as a feedstock for
industrial uses such as synthetic fuels, carbon negative concrete,
or food production.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240520959541/en/
280 Earth Direct Air Capture factory in
The Dalles, Oregon (Photo: 280 Earth)
The first DAC plant in Oregon begins removing CO2 from the
air
280 Earth’s facility provides a commercial demonstration of
several years of research and development by X, The Moonshot
Factory, Alphabet’s innovation lab to grow and commercialize the
unique, low-cost DAC technology. The overall process and purpose of
DAC is to achieve carbon dioxide removal and be a “negative
emissions technology.” To reach net zero by 2050, the International
Energy Agency believes we’ll need to scale DAC to capture more than
980 megatons of carbon dioxide a year by 2050.
The first phase of the commercial demonstration facility is
designed to capture up to 500 tonnes per year of CO2, as well as
water, from ambient air. The captured CO2 will be liquified and
sequestered off-site or used in various industrial processes, while
the related water can be used for cooling or other end uses. The
facility is extensively instrumented to validate scale up plans for
280 Earth’s technology as it progresses to a 5,000 tonne per year
module.
Located in The Dalles, Oregon, 280 Earth’s direct air capture
installation maximizes environmental benefits by using electricity
with very low carbon content, principally from hydropower on the
local grid. Additionally, 280 Earth’s low-temperature desorption
process can minimize energy consumption by utilizing waste heat
from nearby third-party industrial processes. Equipment in the
facility is largely manufactured by American-based vendors and is
being assembled with significant union labor content.
“Our first DAC project deploys a very energy efficient process
to capture CO2 directly from the air. As a result, our net carbon
benefit will be among the best in this rapidly developing
industry,” said Jacques Gagne, co-founder and Chief Technology
Officer of 280 Earth who invented the technology along with his
team.
50 Million Series B Round led by Builders VC will fund DAC
project development to meet urgent CO2 reduction timelines
Funding 280 Earth’s scale-up of direct air capture technology is
led by a highly skilled investor team including Builders VC, Gideon
Yu, and Alphabet, Inc. The company announced today that it has
officially filled and closed a $50 Million Series B Round of
investment.
“280 Earth’s technology will be a key contributor to the
portfolio of solutions necessary to reduce CO2 in our atmosphere
and it’s a strategic advantage to have the financial support and
insight of Builders VC and other thoughtful investors to bring this
earth changing technology to its commercial stage,” said John
Pimentel, chief executive officer of 280 Earth. “We also could not
succeed without our local partners including the Port of The
Dalles, Wasco County, The City of The Dalles, and the State of
Oregon to collaborate in bringing this important project to
life.”
About 280 Earth
280 Earth was formed in 2022 to scale up and commercialize
innovative direct air capture technology developed at X, The
Moonshot Factory (Google X). 280 Earth’s proprietary process is
unique in its cost-effective continuous flow process to capture CO2
directly from the atmosphere, low energy use, ability to utilize
waste heat from a wide variety of industrial processes, and
positive generation of clean water captured from the air. The
company is located in Mountain View, California and The Dalles,
Oregon with projects under development nationwide. For more
information, please visit (https://280.earth)
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240520959541/en/
For press inquiries: press@280.earth