Mission Zero's bold plan: Capturing a billion tonnes of CO2
The startup Mission Zero Technologies, backed by Bill Gates, has already raised over £22 million for the development of direct carbon dioxide capture from the atmosphere. This will allow for the acceleration and recovery of up to 1,000 tonnes of carbon annually.
The current climate situation is concerning – despite the development of renewable energy sources, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. The year 2024 is set to be recorded as the hottest in history, with the average temperature on Earth reaching a level 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels for the first time. In this context, the British startup Mission Zero Technologies is directing its efforts towards revolutionising carbon dioxide capture technology from the atmosphere to help tackle the climate crisis.
How does CO2 air capture work?
What does capturing carbon dioxide from the air entail? The company employs continuous electrochemical separations to absorb CO2 using liquid solutions. This technology is inspired by the biological processes of carbon dioxide management within the human body. The startup has already raised over £22 million for this development. This will facilitate the acceleration and recovery of up to 1,000 tonnes of carbon annually. Bill Gates is among the investors.
Unlike CCS, which is a carbon capture and storage technology, DAC (Direct Air Capture) captures carbon dioxide from the air, unrelated to the combustion of fossil fuels. As the world surpasses Paris Agreement targets, innovations like DAC become crucial for stabilising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Expanding CO2 utilisation is key to enabling this technology's large-scale commercial deployment.
Three such capture systems are already operational
Mission Zero Technologies already operates three DAC systems in the UK and Canada. In Canada, they collaborate with Deep Sky on a project aimed at ultimately removing up to a million tonnes of CO2 annually.
“If you can find ways to utilise CO2, then you can actually change the narrative on that and provide alternative pathways for carbon-based products to make our relationship with carbon more sustainable,” said Nicholas Chadwick, co-founder and CEO of MZT, in an interview with "The Engineer".
Goal: Recover one billion tonnes of CO2 annually
The company aims to recover one billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide each year and promote a decentralised source of thrust for products made from atmospheric CO2. Mission Zero Technologies works with partners like Stripe, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and the UK government to accelerate the pathway for megaton-scale carbon dioxide removal by the end of the decade.
The company currently runs three projects, each with a different form of CO2 application. The University of Sheffield’s Translational Energy Research Centre is producing sustainable aviation fuels from air and water. In Norfolk, OCO Technology is combining CO2 with fly ash to create carbon-negative limestone. In Montreal, Canada, Deep Sky aims to sequester CO2 in rocks, creating carbon credits.
Mission Zero Technologies is a British company based in London, founded in 2020. It specialises in developing innovative technologies for capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air (Direct Air Capture, DAC). Their systems are designed to be modular and energy-efficient, enabling rapid scaling and adaptation to various climatic and industrial conditions. Mission Zero's solutions focus on the efficient use of CO2, which must first be efficiently captured from the atmosphere.
