DAC startup Sustaera envisions low-cost carbon capture

US-based direct air capture (DAC) startup Sustaera said December 16 that new state and federal seed funding and $10mn in financing from Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Grantham Trust would help it develop a pilot project in North Carolina that would have ultra-low sequestration costs.

Using grants from the North Carolina department of commerce and the federal government, Sustaera said it was working to develop a project that could capture CO₂ for less than $100/ton once it develops to scale. Ultimately, Sustaera hopes to capture a cumulative 500mn tons of CO₂ over the next 20 years.

Climeworks, which has a facility up and running already in Iceland, estimates its small-scale commercial DAC plants run at a cost of about $650-$850/ton of CO₂. By 2030, it estimates the cost will be below $250/ton with a long-term goal to bring it to less than $150/ton.

“Sustaera’s DAC system is uniquely powered by carbon-free energy and differentiated by use of abundantly available natural minerals repurposed as carbon dioxide capture sorbents, as well as use of a modular component design to allow Sustaera to rapidly scale this technology using existing supply chains and manufacturing infrastructure,” the company explained. “These benefits, combined with significantly lower land requirements than land-based or natural CO₂ capture methods, makes Sustaera a true pioneer of DAC 2.0.”

Sustaera said it plans to offer DAC systems that can capture an initial 10 tons/day of CO₂ per. Construction on its first demonstration project is scheduled to begin in North Carolina next year.