Ecospray, an Italian company specializing in integrated solutions for decarbonization, will take part as a technical supplier in a groundbreaking pilot project to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from seawater.
The company will provide CO2 liquefaction technologies to Captura, a U.S.-based company founded at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and focused on carbon removal via the oceans. Captura has partnered with Equinor to build a 1,000-ton/year CO2 capture pilot system at Equinor’s processing facility in Kårstø, on the west coast of Norway.
Ecospray is scheduled to deliver the pilot’s CO2 liquefaction system in the third quarter of 2024.
CO2 capture from the sea, high purity liquefaction and storage
The pilot will use Captura's Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) technology to capture CO2 from seawater.
Once captured, after the water removal, the CO2 will be liquefied and purified using Ecospray’s system, before being used for the commissioning of the Northern Lights facilities – the world’s first open-source CO2 transport and storage infrastructure.
The Ecospray CO2 liquefaction is based on the water removal, cooling and subsequent distillation of the CO2 optimizing energy consumptions and concentration to obtain the required high-level purity.
The sea to heal the climate
The oceans absorb about 30 percent of global CO2 emissions; thus, they perform a valuable "buffering" action that limits global warming. At the same time, the steady increase in CO2 produced by anthropogenic activities and the resulting increased uptake by the oceans are acidifying waters and interfering with ecosystems.
It is therefore essential to work on technologies that remove CO2 from the ocean and atmosphere. Captura’s DOC technology works in this direction.
"We are strongly committed to innovative and concretely revolutionary challenges," said Giorgio Copelli, Director of Sales & Marketing at Ecospray. "The Captura project has all the characteristics of this. Ecospray is proud to be part of it as a technology’s provider. The capture of CO2 from seawater is an advancing area but one with great potential that can concretely support decarbonization. Our liquefaction systems are flexible, and we operate in different sectors, always offering cutting-edge technologies. Being chosen for such a significant project is a great certificate of esteem from the market."
