Startup stumbles upon potential solution to mitigate major global pollutant: 'We think [they] found the key to that'

Necessity is spawning innovative solutions in removing, repurposing and sequestering carbon dioxide to help cool down the planet. 

Direct air capture (DAC) of CO2 is actively being explored, but Amsterdam-based Brineworks is betting on direct ocean capture (DOC) as the next big thing, as TechCrunch reported. 

The company is using seawater electrolysis to extract both carbon dioxide and hydrogen, which are both useful products in other green technologies. 

Planet-warming gases have been steadily building up in our atmosphere, with the amount of carbon dioxide reported in 2022 to have increased by more than 20% since 1979. That also represents 50% of the total rise in concentration since the industrial revolution. 

Human activity is largely the cause of the increase, and the buildup is triggering a rise in global temperatures, which translates to a variety of other climate factors including more extreme weather events. 

Brineworks says its removal process is more affordable and scalable than other ocean capture methods. And by using clean solar and wind to power the electrolysis process, it can function entirely off the grid. 

"Current CO2 capture methods, whether from industrial sources or Direct Air Capture, are either not sustainable, too limited in scale, or too costly," Brineworks CEO Gudfinnur Sveinsson said, according to EU-Startups. 

"Brineworks offers an alternative that is sustainable, scalable, and cost-effective, making e-Fuel scale-up for the maritime and aviation industries a real possibility."

Direct air capture has been estimated to cost a large-scale plant around $125 to $335 per metric ton of CO2 collected, according to the International Energy Agency. However, Brineworks shared that its DOC method is only expected to cost around $100 per ton (or about $110 per metric ton).

Nordic VC firm Pale Blue Dot believes in Brineworks' technology enough that it recently provided the company with $2.2 million in funding, as TC reported. 

"What if any nation in the world could make sustainable oil from renewable electricity and seawater alone? We think Brineworks found the key to that," as Hampus Jakobsson, general partner at Pale Blue Dot, said in a statement. 

By removing carbon dioxide and hydrogen from the water, the company ends up with the building blocks to create more eco-friendly e-fuels. This includes e-methanol, e-methane, e-diesel, as well as sustainable aviation fuel. 

Plus, as the report explained, the concentration of CO2 is about 150 times higher in the ocean than it is in the air, requiring much less energy for DOC extraction than DAC methods. 

Brineworks' innovative methods for decarbonization, while also supporting more sustainable fuels, will soon be put to the test. TechCrunch reported the company is now starting its first pilot of the system on the Canary Islands, with the goal of capturing a metric ton per week. 

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