![]() ![]() That was particularly attractive to investor JetBlue Ventures, the venture capital arm of the airline, which invests in companies attempting to change the travel industry. Critics argue direct air capture in general is never going to remove enough carbon to make a dent in the 50 billion tons of CO2 emissions each year, but Kain argues this is just one tool in a decarbonization ecosystem that includes renewable energy such as wind, solar and geothermal.īoth water and captured carbon can be used to make sustainable aviation fuel. Similar to other direct air capture companies, Avnos is benefiting from both government tax credits and direct funding. "We have the opportunity to turn a cost line item for other forms of direct air capture, in spending money on water, to a revenue line item, where we can generate revenue by selling the water that we produce directly from the air," said Kain. "We don't consume any heat, which is a major differentiator and allows us to be more cost-effective, more resource-efficient and ultimately more scalable than other solutions in the space."Īvnos invented what it calls "hybrid direct air capture," which uses a dehumidification technology to produce approximately five tons of water per ton of CO2 captured. "We produce as opposed to consume water," said Will Kain, CEO of Avnos. One California-based startup called Avnos is differentiating itself by creating, rather than using, water in the process. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower New Orleans-based Fleetzero aims to power electrified ships using shipping container-sized battery packs, which could be recharged through a network of charging stations at small ports.Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit ![]() Several other firms also chipped in on the deal, including Eastern Pacific Shipping, Emles Venture Partners, Hawktail, Rebel Fund and Soma Capital.īeyond carbon capture, another Y Combinator-backed startup is setting out to decarbonize existing ships via a novel battery-swapping scheme. To get there, the company has secured $4.4 million in a seed round led by Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital. Seabound says it has signed six letters of intent with “major shipowners,” and it aims to trial the tech aboard ships beginning next year. Her co-founder, CTO Roujia Wen, previously worked on AI products at Amazon. In the latter case, the calcium oxide would be reused and the carbon sold for use or sequestration, per Fredriksson, who previously helped build maritime fuel startup Liquid Wind. When the ships return from their journey, the limestone can be sold as is or separated via heat. In contrast, Seabound intends to process the CO 2 on land, if at all. Yet this comparably tried-and-true method demands more space and energy aboard ships, because the process of isolating the CO 2 happens on the vessel, according to Fredriksson. Others, including Japanese shipping firm K Line and Netherlands-based Value Maritime, are developing their own carbon-capture tech for ships, typically utilizing the better-established, solvent-based approach (which is increasingly used in factories). ![]() Though carbon capture has yet to really catch on for ships, Seabound is just one of the companies out to prove the tech can eventually scale. The startup’s tech works by routing the exhaust into a container that’s filled with porous, calcium oxide pebbles, which in turn “bind to carbon dioxide to form calcium carbonate,”- essentially limestone, per Fredriksson. London-based Seabound is currently prototyping carbon capture equipment that connects to ships’ smokestacks, using a “lime-based approach” to cut carbon emissions by as much as 95%, co-founder and CEO Alisha Fredriksson said in a call with TechCrunch. The industry is exploring alternative fuels and electrification to solve the problem for next-generation ships, but in the meantime a Y Combinator-backed startup is gearing up to (hopefully) help decarbonize the big boats that’re already in the water. Yet these vessels run on some of the dirtiest fuel there is, spewing more greenhouse gases than airplanes do in the process. Unless you live near a port, you probably don’t think much about the tens of thousands of container ships tearing through the seas, hauling some 1.8 billion metric tons of stuff each year. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |