280 Earth, Inc. has filled and closed a $50m Series B investment round led by an investor team including Builders VC, Gideon Yu, and Alphabet, Inc, according to a news release.
The Oregon-based company also 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.
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.
The company has projects under development nationwide.
