Parallel Carbon
Ryan (CEO) and Aranza (CTO), Founders of Parallel Carbon
Bigger Picture
Permanent carbon removal solutions will be critical in decarbonising our hardest to abate sectors and reversing the worst effects of climate change. However, their supply is limited and expensive. Direct Air Capture (DAC) is the most traceable way to remove CO₂ from the air and store it for good, but for now at least, it is also the most costly and energy-intensive. We are seeing exciting innovation exploring new mediums, methods and models to bring down the cost of DAC.
Read more about Direct Air Capture ➜
The problem
Direct air capture may be the most additional, measurable and permanent of all carbon removal solutions. However, current DAC installations have a very large energy footprint. The CO2-loving mediums that selectively bind to CO₂ at low atmospheric concentrations also need a lot of persuasion to release it afterwards. This typically comes in the form of large temperature or pressure swings that require significant round-the-clock energy input which is difficult to meet without invoking fossil sources - either directly or indirectly. This can lead to low efficiency of capture in practice.
Incumbent DAC technologies tend to be capital intensive, requiring significant infrastructure to move large amounts of air and cycle large scale industrial processes. In 2022, the world’s highest capacity DAC plant captures just 4,000 tonnes of CO2 each year and costs an estimated $2,500 to build for each 1tpa of CO2 of removal capacity. Even at Megatonne scale, designs for liquid solvent facilities suggest a base case $800 of Capex per 1tpa of CO2 of capture capacity.
Last but not least, many temperature and pressure swing DAC processes suffer from short lifetimes for sorbents, membranes and other materials. These are often costly to replace and rely on under-developed supply chains with their own sustainability and scale challenges.
All told, removing one tonne of CO₂ by DAC today costs anywhere from $300 to over $2000. We’re on the hunt for scalable solutions less hungry for energy, capital and resources.
Why Parallel?
Outstanding team The co-founders of Parallel, Ryan and Aranzazu, come with deep but complementary experience across mineral carbonation, electrochemistry, and aqueous particle processing.
100% Renewable Direct Air Capture Parallel's process does need energy, but is unique in its high tolerance for intermittent supply, making it a better fit for wind and solar power than any other approach we've seen.
Natural processes for capital efficiency By leveraging the natural carbonation of rocks coupled with a novel regeneration system, Parallel is pioneering a significantly less capital and resource intensive approach to DAC. By the time their solution reaches Megaton scale, the Parallel team’s Capex requirement is expected to fall below $300 per 1tpa of capture capacity with no reliance on specialist sorbents.
Affordable and permanent carbon removal Together, these advantages give Parallel one of the clearest paths we have seen to DAC operations at a levelized cost comfortably below $100 /tCO2 by the time they reach megaton scale.
