Climeworks demonstrates Direct Air Capture technology in Riyadh

(CONNECT) Climeworks, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), has successfully presented its Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology at the KAPSARC site in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The mobile DAC unit captures CO2 from the ambient air and enables either permanent storage or further utilization.

The test run in Riyadh shows that the technology can also be used in Saudi Arabia's hot and dry weather conditions, according to a press release. Previous test runs have taken place in colder climates, for example in Iceland. The inauguration of the mobile DAC units took place on July 27 at the KAPSARC site in Riyadh and was sponsored by the Saudi Ministry of Energy. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was a guest at the event.

With this demonstration, the kingdom is underlining its commitment to Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) technologies, according to the press release. The DAC unit is part of a wider study by the Ministry of Energy to identify further DAC deployment opportunities in Saudi Arabia.

The cooperation between Climeworks, the think tank KAPSARC and the Saudi Ministry of Energy demonstrates the economic possibilities of DAC scaling in Saudi Arabia. Its sustainable energy resources, infrastructure and strategic geographic location made the Kingdom suitable for DAC development to implement its Net Zero plans.

Saudi Arabia has announced plans to capture and use up to 44 million tons of CO2 annually from 2035 with large-scale CCUS plants. The plants are intended to offset the Kingdom's industrial emissions and enable the permanent storage and conversion of CO2 into value-added products. ce/yes