Powerful Mechanical Trees Can Remove CO₂ From
the Air to Combat Global Warming at Scale

TEMPE, Ariz. & DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Arizona State University (ASU) and Silicon Kingdom Holdings (SKH)
announce an agreement to deploy carbon capture technology developed by
Professor Klaus Lackner, director of ASU’s Center for Negative Carbon
Emissions (CNCE).

The proprietary technology acts like a tree that is thousands of times
more efficient at removing CO₂ from the air. The “mechanical
trees” allow the captured gas to be sequestered or sold for re-use in a
variety of applications, such as synthetic fuels, enhanced oil recovery
or in food, beverage and agriculture industries.

Unlike other carbon capture technologies, SKH’s technology can remove CO₂
from the atmosphere without the need to draw air through the system
mechanically, using energy intensive devices. Instead, the technology
uses the wind to blow air through the system. This makes it a passive,
relatively low-cost and scalable solution that is commercially viable.
If deployed at scale, the technology could lead to significant
reductions in the levels of CO₂ in Earth’s atmosphere,
helping to combat global warming.

CO₂ is an odorless, colorless gas that is a byproduct of burning fossil
fuels and other natural processes. Humans release more than 36 billion
metric tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere annually,
significantly changing Earth’s natural carbon cycle. The excess carbon
traps heat and causes global warming.

“The situation has gotten to the point where we need to stop talking
about it and start doing something about it,” said Lackner, an ASU
engineering professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the
Built Environment. “Carbon dioxide is a waste product we produce every
time we drive our cars or turn on the lights in our homes. Our device
can recycle it, bringing it out of the atmosphere and either bury it or
use it as an industrial gas,” added Lackner, who will serve as the chief
scientific adviser to SKH.

The “mechanical tree” is a novel geometry which is agnostic to the wind
direction. Each one contains a stack of sorbent filled disks. When the
tree-like column is fully extended and the disks spread apart, air flow
makes contact with the surfaces and the CO₂ gets bound up. During
regeneration, the disks are lowered inside the bottom container. Inside
the chamber, the CO₂ is released from the sorbent. The
released gas is then collected, purified, processed and put to other
uses, while the disks are redeployed to capture more CO₂.

Until now, technologies being developed to capture CO₂ from
the air have been constrained by the cost of capture and the ability to
harvest the gas at scale. The technology to be deployed by SKH addresses
both issues, bringing the cost of capture comfortably below $100 per
metric ton at scale – the lowest in the industry – making it both
commercial and impactful towards reducing global warming.

SKH plans to deploy clusters of column shaped devices, or “mechanical
trees.” A cluster comprises 12 columns and can remove 1 metric ton of CO₂
per day. SKH will deploy the technology in a pilot CO₂ farm
targeting 100 metric tons per day of CO₂. The technology will
then be deployed to full scale CO₂ farms in multiple
locations, each capable of removing up to 3.8 million metric tons of CO₂
annually.

SKH holds the exclusive rights to the technology and comprises a group
of leading individuals from business and science, including Lackner.
Through the relationship with ASU, SKH will support ASU research and ASU
owns an interest in the shares of SKH.

“Our goal is to accelerate the global climate effort set out in the
Paris Agreement to contribute to reversing global carbon emissions in
the next 10 to 15 years,” said Pól Ó Móráin, CEO of SKH. “Our passive
process is the evolution of carbon capture technology which has the
ability to be both economically and technologically viable at scale in a
reasonably short time frame,” added Ó Móráin.

“The development of Klaus Lackner’s carbon capture device is but one
example of how ASU is developing novel technologies and business
opportunities to improve the environment and ensure a healthy Earth for
all well into the future,” said Peter Schlosser, vice president and vice
provost for Global Futures at ASU. “We are excited to be working with
SKH to bring this important technology for limiting global warming to
market.”

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About Arizona State University
Arizona State University has
developed a new model for the American Research University, creating an
institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU
measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the
prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that
contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for
the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that
surround it.

About Silicon Kingdom Holdings (SKH)
SKH holds the exclusive
worldwide rights to deploy carbon capture technology developed by
Professor Klaus Lackner, director of Arizona State University’s Center
for Negative Carbon Emissions. The proprietary technology acts like a
tree that is thousands of times more efficient at removing CO₂ from the
air. The “mechanical trees” allow the captured gas to be sequestered or
sold for re-use in a variety of applications, including synthetic fuels,
enhanced oil recovery or food, beverage and agriculture industries. The
technology offers passive, low-cost scalable capture of CO₂ from ambient
air. Deployed at scale, the technology can add meaningfully to other
global CO₂ initiatives to achieve significant reductions in the levels
of CO₂ in Earth’s atmosphere. SKH is based in Dublin, Ireland and
comprises a group of leading individuals from business and science,
including Professor Lackner.

Contacts

Arizona State University
Skip Derra
+1 480-965-4823

Silicon
Kingdom Holdings
Pól Ó Móráin, CEO
(via Vigo Communications)

Vigo
Communications
Ben Simons / Simon Woods
+44 (0)20-7390-0234
[email protected]