RepAir Carbon is making carbon removal machines inspired by batteries

Summary

In the span of a decade, direct air capture technology that draws CO2 out of the atmosphere has gone from wildly expensive to somewhat expensive. Companies like Microsoft, which set a target to eliminate its emissions by 2030, is happy to pay more to get the ball rolling. But smaller companies would still balk at the prices. A startup may have an answer, one that’s been inspired by batteries. RepAir Carbon is developing a new form of carbon capture the company says could drive the cost down as low as $70 to $80 per metric ton of carbon removed. That’s a significantly lower price than other approaches, which experts estimate cost around $600 per metric ton. RepAir recently raised a $15 million extension to its Series A, the company exclusive told TechCrunch. The round was led by Exantia Capital and Taranis Carbon Ventures with participation from Ormat Technologies and Repsol. The Israeli Innovation Authority also contributed a $3 million grant. The potential cost advantage comes from the way RepAir uses electricity to capture carbon. Most companies rely on a solvent to remove CO2 that must be heated to release the gas so it can be transported and stored. RepAir, on the other hand, uses electricity to drive the chemical reaction. The device is “more like a fuel cell, but operated more like a battery,” co-founder and CEO Amir Shiner told TechCrunch. Inside, two electrodes are separated by a membrane. As air or flue gas is drawn into the reaction chamber, it encounters a nickel-based electrode with a current running through it. There, hydroxide is waiting to attract carbon dioxide, converting it into carbonate and bicarbonate ions with negative electrical charges. These then pass through the porous electrode and separator, attracted to the other electrode’s positive charge. When the ions hit the positive electrode, they revert back to CO2 and hydroxide. The CO2 is then drawn off to be stored while the hydroxide builds up until there’s enough that the reactor can be reve...