Posts Tagged: capture
Biden administration earmarks $1.2 billion for two large-scale carbon capture projects
The Department of Energy is giving grants of up to $ 1.2 billion to two direct air capture (DAC) projects that aim to remove more than 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. The agency says that's equivalent to the annual emissions of around 445,000 gas-powered cars. The DOE notes that the projects in Texas and Louisiana will "create 4,800 good-paying jobs" as well.
DAC employs a chemical process to separate CO2 from the air. Facilities can then store CO2 underground or put it into carbon-containing products like concrete that prevent the gas from getting back into the atmosphere.
These are the first commercial-scale DAC projects in the US. They'll each be capable of removing more than 250 times as much CO2 from the atmosphere than the current largest DAC location, according to the DOE. Occidental Petroleum subsidiary 1PointFive and its partners are building the Texas facility. The company's CEO says that, when the project is fully operational, it has the potential to remove up to 30 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.
The two projects are the first selections from the Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs program, which the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funded. The aim of the program is to mitigate the impact of climate change by developing a nationwide group of large-scale carbon removal sites that will work in harmony with other efforts to reduce emissions.
The DOE says that, when it is sufficiently scaled up, DAC technology can help the US meet its target of neutralizing emissions by 2050. However, as Reuters notes, to reach the level of scale needed for DAC to have a big enough impact globally, it's imperative to reduce the costs involved quickly.
To that end, the agency has announced several efforts to lower the costs of DAC to below $ 100 for each net metric ton of CO2-equivalent by the end of the 2020s. It's funding 14 feasibility studies along with five engineering and design studies for projects that are in earlier stages. There's also a $ 35 million government procurement program in place for carbon removal credits.
To reach the Biden administration's goal of having a net zero emissions economy by 2050, the DOE estimates that between 400 million and 1.8 billion metric tons will have to be removed from the atmosphere and captured from emissions sources every year.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/biden-administration-earmarks-12-billion-for-two-large-scale-carbon-capture-projects-184525151.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
US Department of Energy wants to dramatically reduce the cost of carbon capture technology
The US Department of Energy wants to accelerate the development of carbon capture technology. On Friday, the agency announced a program called Carbon Negative Shot. Part of its Energy Earthshots initiative, the goal here is to foster the development of carbon capture technology that can sequester CO2 at a cost of less than $ 100 per ton, and can be deployed at the gigaton scale. To put that in perspective, that much carbon is equivalent to the annual emissions of approximately 250 million cars.
“By slashing the costs and accelerating the deployment of carbon dioxide removal — a crucial clean energy technology — we can take massive amounts of carbon pollution directly from the air and combat the climate crisis,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “With our Carbon Negative Shot, we can help remove the greenhouse gases already warming our planet and affecting our health — positioning America as a net-zero leader and creating good-paying jobs for a transitioning clean energy workforce.”
If it wasn’t clear already, the Energy Department has set an ambitious target. In September, Orca, the largest direct carbon capture facility ever, opened in Iceland. The plant will capture 4,000 tons of CO2 per year at a cost of about $ 600 per ton for bulk purchases. Chimeworks, the company that operates Orca, aims to reduce the cost to $ 300 or less per ton by 2030. That’s a long way away from the Energy Department’s goal of less than $ 100 per ton, but sustained and substantial support and investment from the government is exactly what could make that happen.
Ring Doorbell 3 Plus delivers a “Pre-roll” capture feature with triple cameras
Ring has released a couple new video doorbells, including the Ring Doorbell 3 and Ring Doorbell 3 Plus, and it’s bringing a pretty key new feature to the world of always-on home security. To accomplish that feature, it’s also packing in three cameras, which makes this video doorbell a worthy rival to most flagship smartphones […]
Come comment on this article: Ring Doorbell 3 Plus delivers a “Pre-roll” capture feature with triple cameras
HTC teases 360 degree video capture and squeeze gestures
It’s not much of a secret that HTC is working on hardware gestures for its upcoming HTC U 11 flagship device, including a way to squeeze the sides of the phone to interact with it. It’s a very cool concept, but I think it’s safe to say we’re all interested in actually seeing it in […]
Come comment on this article: HTC teases 360 degree video capture and squeeze gestures
Affordable motion capture system is an entire studio in one skintight suit
The motion-capturing Smartsuit Pro brings a studio-level mocap experience but replaces wires and cameras with smart sensors and Wi-Fi. Whether you want to make movies or games, this is the suit for you.
The post Affordable motion capture system is an entire studio in one skintight suit appeared first on Digital Trends.
Want to capture 360 video wherever you go? Wear these sunglasses
360 video is coming to wearables — the Orbi Prime is a pair of sunglasses capable of recording 360 video using four built-in cameras. Previous camera glasses have had mixed results, but the Indiegogo campaign is already halfway to their goal.
The post Want to capture 360 video wherever you go? Wear these sunglasses appeared first on Digital Trends.