Over the course of a decade, direct air capture technology that extracts CO2 from the atmosphere has grown from very expensive to somewhat expensive. Companies like Microsoft, which have set goals to eliminate emissions by 2030, are happy to pay more to roll the ball. But small businesses still alk at the price.
The startup may have battery-inspired answers. Repaired carbon is developing a new form of carbon capture that the company says could reduce the cost as low as $70 to $80 per metric tonne of carbon removal. This is a significantly lower price than other approaches, with experts estimated the cost of around $600 per metric tonne.
The repairs recently raised a $15 million extension of the Series A, the company’s dedicated to tell TechCrunch. The round was led by Exantia Capital and Taranis Carbon Ventures with participation from Ormat Technologies and Repsol. Israel’s Department of Innovation also donated $3 million in grants.
The potential cost advantage comes from the way repairs use electricity to capture carbon. Most companies rely on solvents to remove CO2, which needs to be heated to release the gas so that it can be transported and stored. Meanwhile, repairs use electricity to promote chemical reactions.
The device “is similar to a fuel cell, but it works like a battery,” co-founder and CEO Amir Sinner told TechCrunch.
Inside, the two electrodes are separated by a membrane. When air or flue gas is drawn into the reaction chamber, you will encounter a nickel-based electrode with current running through it. So the hydroxide waits to attract carbon dioxide, which is converted to carbonates and bicarbonate ions with a negative charge. These then passed through the porous electrode and separator, attracting the positive charge of the other electrodes.
When the ions hit the positive electrode, they return to CO2 and hydroxide. The CO2 is then accumulated and stored, and is built until the hydroxide is sufficient to reverse the reactor and repeat the process in the opposite direction.
Reversibility of repairs may prioritize it compared to other carbon capture techniques.
Other capture devices usually require time to heat the solvent to release CO2, a process known as regeneration.
“We play as we work,” Shiner said.
Each reaction chamber of the repair is filled with multiple stacks of anode separator combos, allowing the company to apply different amounts of electricity to ensure it is operating at peak performance.
Shiner said the technology works to capture carbon from the atmosphere and from exhaust flows from power plants and other sources. The repairs are currently in discussions with developers and will help add the technology to the gas turbine to eliminate carbon emissions from the data center.
“It’s early, but it’s something we’re working on and we have a strong interest from that particular area,” he said.