On Tuesday, Amazon declared that it will financially support the most extensive implementation of direct air capture (DAC) technology to happen over the next decade by buying a quarter of a million metric tons of carbon removal from 1PointFive, a carbon extraction business.The carbon from the air capture method will then be held beneath the earth in saline aquifers consisting of big rock layers filled with salt water.This disclosure from Amazon follows Microsoft's announcement that it has agreed to purchase carbon credits from Heirloom Carbon, a California-based start up that utilizes limestone for taking out carbon from the atmosphere.
Following a government infusion of money into carbon-sucking technology, Amazon revealed on Tuesday that it is investing in the greatest deployment of direct air capture (DAC) technology in the world. They will be purchasing a quarter of a million metric tons of carbon removal from STRATOS, a carbon removal technology company, for the following 10 years, though the financial worth of the venture was not disclosed. The carbon dioxide which is removed from the air will be stored underground in saline aquifers, which contain large rock formations saturated in salt water. This quantity of carbon dioxide is the equivalent of the emissions caused by roughly 55,633 gasoline-powered cars in a year, according to the EPA.
Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund is also investing in CarbonCapture Inc., to help hasten the commercial deployment of new DAC materials for absorbing carbon. Aiming to eradicate emissions that can’t be eliminated at their source, Kara Hurst, Amazon’s VP of worldwide sustainability, said, “We’re also helping launch technologies we know the world will need to avoid the worst effects of global climate change — supporting those technologies' growth so they'll also be available to other companies and organizations.” To decarbonize its global operations, Amazon is doing this through various means such as wind and solar renewable energy projects, delivery fleet electrification and reduction in the weight packing per shipment.
The news follows Microsoft’s agreement to buy carbon credits from California-based startup Heirloom Carbon, which uses limestone to remove carbon from the atmosphere. The credits will remove up to 315,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide over the next decade, which would amount to at least $200 million based on market prices. This quantity of carbon offsets is equal to the yearly emissions of about 70,000 gas-powered cars. Heirloom’s DAC Hub was recently selected by the US Department of Energy for up to $600 million in matching funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
In order to comply with the 1.5 degrees Celsius-limit established by the Paris Agreement, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that it is necessary to remove around 1 trillion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere around the world this century. “Solving big problems requires innovation and invention of new technologies that don't exist yet, and it's important that we use all the tools available to us to make the greatest impact,” said Hurst. With these investments, Amazon and Microsoft are attempting to do just that.
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