Carbon Atlantis
Malte, (CEO, right), Paul, (CTO, centre) and Steffen (CSO, left) from Carbon Atlantis with their end-to-end DAC / CCS demonstrator unit in Munich.
Bigger Picture
Most forms of non-photosynthetic Carbon Removal rely on acids and bases. Bases efficiently bind CO2, while acids release it. These reactions are fundamental to the geological carbon cycle and take place over thousands of years. Designers of “chemical” carbon removal solutions make use of strong alkali and acids to react with CO₂ within minutes. With a little ingenuity, a steady supply of strong acid / base opens up a variety of ways to capture CO2 from a low concentration source like the atmosphere, flue gases or even the ocean.
The Problem
The catch is that making strong acids and bases with a low carbon footprint is energy intensive and requires specialised materials. For example, the widespread Chlor-Alkali process, which produces hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide from electrolysis, needs around 2,100kWh of energy to make enough base to bind a single ton of CO2. Total energy, including fans, compressors, pumps and accounting for the plant’s full scope emissions may reach over 2,800kWh for each tonne of CO2 captured - too much to make sense as a Direct Air Capture solution.
There are ways to make acids and bases with less energy, but they often rely on electrochemical operations constrained to low current densities to minimise resistance and wear and tear on sensitive components. These approaches often suffer from increased capital costs as more equipment is required for each ton of CO2 captured - making the overall operation yet more expensive.
Why Carbon Atlantis?
Scalable, durable electrochemical components
Carbon Atlantis’s electrochemical cell design uses widely scaled commodity components that are less prone to problems like fouling, corrosion and delamination. This means they can count on established supply chains, keep their equipment running for longer and control capital costs. Crucially, it also means their cell can operate at much higher current densities than their competitors.
A low energy platform for acid & base production
Carbon Atlantis’s unique process can be tuned to produce enough acid + base to capture 1 ton of atmospheric CO2 at 99% purity with energy savings of up to 70% compared to conventional approaches. By operating at higher current densities, Carbon Atlantis reduce their CapEx per ton of CO2 and are able make the most of cheap peaks in solar or wind energy production. As well as reducing OpEx, this allows them to build up acid/base reserves so they can keep capturing CO2 efficiently around the clock, even when renewable energy is in shorter supply.
A host of carbon removal (and abatement) applications
The technology lends itself to Direct Air Capture, but also to other carbon removal pathways like Direct Ocean Capture as well as point source capture. Different air or water contactor designs can be plugged into Carbon Atlantis’s modular back-end. Beyond carbon capture, their solution has the potential to help decarbonise a host of materials supply chains including critical metals.
Exceptional, mission-driven team
Within their first year, founders Malte, Paul and Steffen have demonstrated their technology’s effectiveness in a range of configurations, built on their foundational IP and rapidly gathered a world-class team of experts.
