Climeworks, a leader in carbon removal through direct air capture, has reached another significant milestone in its Louisiana-based Project Cypress DAC Hub. The company has announced a partnership with CapturePoint Solutions LLC for the transport and storage of carbon dioxide captured at Climeworks’ facility located in Southwest Louisiana. This collaboration represents a vital advancement toward establishing a million-ton direct air capture hub.
CapturePoint will manage the transportation of the captured carbon dioxide from Climeworks’ DAC facility in Calcasieu Parish to be permanently stored deep underground in Class VI wells at CapturePoint’s Central Louisiana Regional Carbon Storage Hub (CENLA Hub) in Vernon and Rapides Parishes. The CENLA Hub is anticipated to be one of the largest onshore deep underground carbon storage centres currently under development in the United States, with the capacity to securely store millions of tonnes of CO2.
“Louisiana is poised to take a leading position in building the DAC industry here in the United States,” stated Daniel Nathan, Climeworks’ chief project development officer. “The area’s porous subsurface offers ideal geological conditions for the safe and permanent storage of carbon dioxide, and the state has an experienced workforce capable of developing and constructing large-scale projects like DAC. We are thrilled to advance this next step forward in partnership with CapturePoint.”
Climeworks’ flagship plant, Orca, located in Iceland, is recognized as the world’s first commercial direct air capture and storage (DAC+S) facility. Earlier this year, Climeworks launched Mammoth, its second and largest commercial DAC+S plant, which boasts a capacity ten times greater than its predecessor.
“Climeworks is at the forefront of pioneering commercial-scale Direct Air Capture projects, and the team at CapturePoint is eager to ensure that the CO2 captured by their Project Cypress facility is permanently secured deep underground at our Central Louisiana Regional Carbon Storage Hub,” commented Tracy Evans, CEO of CapturePoint. “The reliable geology of the CENLA Hub positions it as one of the safest and largest carbon management sites in the United States, thereby attracting innovative companies like Climeworks that are shaping the future economy of Louisiana.”
The Project Cypress Southwest Hub will be developed in two phases. The initial phase is expected to have a nameplate capacity of approximately 300,000 metric tonnes of CO2 per year, while the second phase aims for a capacity of one megaton, or one million tonnes. Climeworks’ involvement in the Project Cypress DAC Hub is also anticipated to generate economic incentives for Southwest Louisiana.
Project Cypress is part of the Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs programme. The initiative has received an initial award of over $50 million from OCED, contributing to a total federal cost share of up to $550 million, while Project Cypress partners are mobilising an additional $51 million in private investment for the project’s initial phase.
For more information visit www.capturepointllc.com
